Just a touch away from you
by Razias
Summary: Yoruichi x Soi Fon. The captain and lieutenant of the second squad are missing, and a new captain, Yoruichi Shihõin, is just about to take over controle in Soi Fon's squad.
1. A new captain

**Story title:** Just a touch away from you.

**Author:** Razias  
**Series:** Bleach  
**Pairing:** Soi Fon and Yoruichi Shihouin  
**Disclaimer:** I own none of the characters of bleach.

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A/N: First of all I would like to say that English is not my first language. I'm from the Netherlands, so there may be some mistakes in grammar or spelling in this story.  
If you notice them, I'd appreciate if you'd let me know. ^^

Then as second note, this also is my first fanfiction. I've never done anything like this before (: Though I'll give it a try.

That was all, please have fun reading!

xx.

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_Chapter 1  
__A new captain._

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Soi Fon woke up fiercely when she heard an odd noise float into her room through the opened window. Softly she rubbed her eyes with her hands, and then let out a sleepy yawn. After she closed her mouth, she stretched her arms above her head and with a big groan she pushed herself up and sat straight on her bed, placing her hands behind her to catch her weight.

Her hair looked messy, wisps of her short dark hair were pointing out different ways so it made her appear kind of chaotic. It looked like she had a very restless night, and waking up from screams outside her house, didn't do any good either. Curious she moved over to the window and shoved away the curtains…what the hell was going on out there?

Soi's eyes widened when she peeked out of the window, and saw a red haired man with a ponytail and tattoos on his face standing in front of her house, with on the opposite a skinhead with red stripes near his eyes. Both men drawn out their swords, and pointed them at one another. Behind them were several people, all yelling out loud to encourage the red haired man, or the skinhead.

Rapidly Soi turned around and ran to her wardrobe to get dressed. She had to take a closer look at what was going on outside. She pulled out one of her shinigami suits and ran to the bathroom to put it on. Once she changed her pyjamas for a black shinigami pants and top, she searched around to find her hairbrush. Once she found it, she stroked it through her hair a few times, and with a quick glance in the mirror she decided she looked decent enough to go outside. Quickly Soi ran to the stairway -almost stumbling over her own feet- when she tried to grab her sword, and at the same time trying to get outside as fast as she could.

When she opened the front door, she saw the situation had become worse than what she had seen through her window. She stood still frozen in the doorway to watch the further developed battle.

Now the men were fighting, and swords were clinging against each other.

Neither of the swords had been released yet. Until...

"HOWL ZABIMARU!'' Renji's scream resounded through the furthermore abandoned street, and his sword transformed into a segmented blade with a pick-like protrusion on each segment.

At the sight of Renji releasing his zanpaktou, Ikkaku's grin on his face widened and he let out a sarcastic huff.

"Ah, Renji. Are we going to play it this way?" The look on his face changed from arrogance to an expression of excitement. "Well, show your best! 'Cause this ain't going to be easy for you, Abarai! GROW, HOUZUKIMARU!" This time Ikkaku's sword began to change shape, it became longer and thinner, in the end, a spear looking weapon was held in his hand with on top a red horsehair tassel.

With the transformations of their zanpaktou's, a distance of a couple of meters was created between the two fighters. And now their swords had transformed, it was time to truly begin the fight. Ikkaku immediately rushed forward to close the distance and attack Renji. Renji instinctively blocked Ikkaku's attack and jumped to the right, almost getting hit by a second strike of Ikkaku's zanpaktou.

"Hah! So slow!" said the spear-holding man with a wide grin, ready for another attack.

Renji quickly made another step to the side and made sure he was at a certain distant from Ikkaku to let his sword have the space to attack. With a concentrated frown on his face he let his zanpaktou stretch, making Zabimaru useful as a whip, and swung it over to the place where Ikkaku was standing. The other easily dodged it, and ran with a loud scream and eyes full of triumph towards his target. He was absolutely sure he wouldn't miss Renji this time.

Soi Fon slightly narrowed her eyes when she saw Ikkaku was running to his prey with amazing speed. Renji's eyes instead grew large when he realized he wouldn't be fast enough to call back Zabimaru and avoid this attack from hitting him. Before Soi could even give a second thought about it, she reached for her own sword and jumped forwards to where the two men were standing.

A sound of four swords hitting each other sounded through the Seireitei. Everybody of the squads stood still in a dead silence. Four people were standing in the middle of the crowd. One of the persons faced Ikkaku, stopping his spear from coming any closer to Renji, and the other one stood behind him, to block Renji's stretchable Zabimaru from hitting Ikkaku in the back.

A few seconds of pure horror passed by, when the figure behind Ikkaku let down her sword. Everyone could tell she was a captain, by the white haori she was wearing. It was a beautiful dark-skinned woman, with wild, short purple hair, that was waving along with a breeze. She wasn't very tall, but her slight features easily made you underestimate her physical power, though she looked like someone you shouldn't mess around with. Silently she stood up straight, and turned around to face the others.

It was like Soi felt thunder strike inside her, when she saw those two golden eyes locking straight into hers. For a moment she thought she saw the captain's eyebrows rise, impressed, that a little Chinese girl had have had enough courage and strength to stop a spear handed bloke from a very deadly attack, while the rest of the squad had been too paralyzed to move. But it happened so quick that Soi wasn't sure if she had seen it right, and after a few seconds, the captain glanced away. With her cloudy grey eyes, Soi followed the other girl's movements, and let down her sword, which she had held up to block Ikkaku's attack until now.

"You two. Come with me." spoke the strict, as well as soft, voice of the captain. Then the woman turned around to send the squads back to their quarters, and walked off to the east, her haori flaring up from the wind.

Quickly she glanced over her shoulder to see if Renji and Ikkaku followed her obedient. When she saw both men followed her silently, a bit overwhelmed, she gave a quick glance to Soi, who still stood fossilized in the middle of the street, and smiled.


	2. The captain's office

A/N: Well, I'm uploading chapter 2 already, because chapter 1 is very short.  
Actually the chapters 1-3 are a bit short, but the rest will be longer ^^

That was all again, have fun reading!

xx.

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_Chapter 2  
__The captain's office.  
_

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With determined steps Yoruichi walked into her office, the office of the so called 2nd squad. "Take a seat." She obeyed the fighters, while she fluttered her hand in the direction of two cherry wooden chairs, which stood in the middle of the room. The two men looked awkwardly at each other, sharing an uncertain glance about who this new captain was, but finally settled down. They started to look around in the office, a bit uncomfortable, acting like there was something interesting to be seen on the walls. In the meantime Yoruichi had taken place behind her desk. And now she was attentively studying the two guys' attitude, with her head in her hands.

"So." her bright voice eventually broke the silence. "Could one of you two tell me what the cause was of all this fuss?"

Dead silence. Two pairs of eyes stared at the woman who was casually sitting behind her desk, now leaning back in her chair.

"No one?" Yoruichi sighed, making a slight frown appear on her face. "You, bold guy, why don't you tell me how this whole commotion started?"

Ikkaku's face turned into a grumbling look at the nickname the captain gave him, but he quickly let his expression fade and said nothing about it, which was a really hard task to complete. It wouldn't be polite to cause another fuss about nicknames with this new captain, so he kept his mouth shut.

Yoruichi instead, took this as a disobeyed order, and cocked up her left eyebrow. But before she could say a word about his bad behaviour, he already began to speak.

"I couldn't let Abarai pass my territory, captain."

Yoruichi wasn't sure if she was more interested in the sentence Ikkaku had just said, or the expression Renji gave Ikkaku at this right moment. It was a look of pure disgust.

"You couldn't let him pass... you say? Bold guy?" Yoruichi asked, curious, while playing with a wisp of her purple hair around her finger. Another weird look appeared on Ikkaku's face when the captain mentioned the nickname again, but faded fast, just like the first one. "Just tell me now." Yoruichi spoke. "What are your names?"

"I am Abarai Renji." the red haired man with tattoos on his face spoke. Yoruichi turned her head to face him, nodding approvingly, because he had been the first one to decently introduce himself.

"Madarame Ikkaku." the other guy said nonchalant.

"Right, I see." Yoruichi nodded. "And if I may ask, which squad do you belong to?"

At this question, Renji and Ikkaku gave each other a glance.

"We're.. Still in Shinigami school.. Fourth grade." Renji chuckled nervous.

"Fourth.. grade..?" Yoruichi said slightly stunned. "Right.. I'll report this to your teachers. For now, both of you are dismissed." she waved another fluttery hand in the direction of the door, while looking at the other one's nails.

Renji looked up surprised at the woman. _Dismissed?_ _Are we really getting away with this that easy? Oh... no... right, she'll tell our teachers. That's going to be bad... they won't like that._

Both men rose from their chairs, gave a little bow towards the purple haired woman, and started to walk off in the direction of the door. When they almost reached it, they heard the captain speak again.

"Wait."

The red haired man and Ikkaku turned around.

"That girl." Yoruichi began. "That girl with the short black hair and grey cloudy eyes, who was she?"

"You mean Soi Fon, captain?" Renji said, while looking thoughtful at the ceiling. "The girl who was standing in between me and Madarame?"

"Yeah... exactly. That girl. The girl who was standing in between... Her name was Soi Fon you said? Which Division does she belong to?" Yoruichi asked, looking curiously at the man for an answer.

"Yours I thought, captain. She belongs to the 2nd Division." Was the final answer Renji gave.

"Ok, thank you. You can go now."

When the men were finally gone, Yoruichi leaned back in her chair

"Soi Fon." She whispered thoughtfully. _I'll look for you tomorrow._


	3. Gossips

A/N: This will be the last piece I upload before I'm going to Bonaire ^^ (I live in the Netherlands)  
That will be... TOMORROW (:  
Yay! Vacation!!

Anyway, enjoy, and don't miss me too much, eh?

xx.

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_Chapter 3  
__Gossips.  
_

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Blankly, Soi saw the captain, Renji, Ikkaku, and the other members of the squads disappear. She was still standing in the same pose, not daring to change it.  
What had been that shock she received when the captain had looked at her like that? What had been that weird feeling which had overwhelmed her, making her body unable to move?

Questionably the black haired girl looked down at her tummy. That was where she had felt a strange tingly feeling. But of course her stomach didn't give her any answers, except for a hungry roar which said it was time for breakfast.

The little girl sighed defeatedly. _Who was that woman anyway?_ Soi questioned herself. _She was a captain, that for sure. But which squad did she belong to? I've never seen her before.. _It was obvious Soi hadn't noticed the number on the back of the captain's haori, and so she didn't know that the woman she had just met had been her brand-new captain.

At last, Soi decided it was safe enough to move, and walked off to the front door, which she had left open. Still deep in thoughts she went inside, and as she placed her sword against the wall, she gave a hard kick at the door to close it. After she heard a satisfying "BANG!" she moved over to the living room, and walked further to the kitchen to make herself a morning meal. Well, as far as you could call it a meal in the first place.

A few crackers with cheese, and a mug of lukewarm tea. That was what she consumed every morning. When Soi was just awake, she couldn't bear it to eat anything heavy. So that's why the girl was stuck to tea and crispy crackers for over two years already.

When the Chinese girl finished her meal, she brought her plate and cup to the kitchen, and placed it on the dresser. _"Guess it's time to go." _Soi thought, and she walked back to the hallway to get her zanpaktou.

When the black haired woman arrived at the 2nd squad's office, she was still thinking about the dark-skinned captain.  
_Damn, why didn't I know her? She must be new, yeah, I bet that's it.. Or am I that stupid? _Soi let out a sarcastic huff at the insulting she was giving herself. _Naah, I'm sure that if she wasn't new I would at least have heard about her joining the Seireitei before... Hm… Is there any way I can figure out who she is? It's just; her movements had been so smooth and quick. I didn't even see her coming. How had that ever been possible? Maybe she…_

Her thoughts got interrupted when she saw a small group of shinigami's had gathered at the plaza. Usually Soi wasn't very curious, she specially hated it when a group of people was gossiping about others, but something about the arousal of the group made her join in.

"Yes! And she is the noble head of the Shihõin family!" A hazel brown haired shinigami shouted out loud.

At this statement, a lot of men and woman began to mumble excited. Soi had heard stories about the noble Shihõin family, they were known as very rich and famous people. There wasn't a single person in the Seireitei that didn't know their name. Ever since you were a little kid, you learned that if you ever met a member of the noble Shihõin house, you must always show your deepest respect for them.

Soi would always remember what they used to say about the Shihõin family:

"_Meeting a Shihõin is a big honour. Don't ever try to underestimate their status. If you offend one of the Shihouin members, you can be called as good as dead. Admire them, respect them."_

And that was why Soi was wondering how the subject had gotten in the spotlights.

She moved over near a boy with short blonde hair and a girl with red hair, who were loudly discussing the subject that seemed to be so popular, and tried to get any wiser about what was going on.

"I've been told she's very impressive! They say that she intervened in a fight between two men this morning! But nobody saw her coming! She was just there all of a sudden! At least, that's what I've heard." the blonde boy said.

"There all off a sudden? Mmm.. Sounds like she achieved _Shunpo_, you know, Flash step.." the red haired girl replied, making a lot of arm movements while talking excitingly.

"Yes! Well, of course!" the boy reacted. "Haven't you heard of her? Shihõin Yoruichi, they also call her the Goddess of Flash. That's why nobody was able to see or follow her movements, or even able to see her coming." The boy shrieked, not able to control his enthusiasm anymore.

"Goddess of Flash, eh? Does that mean she's faster than captain Kuchiki's grandson: Kuchiki Byakuya?"

"Hah! Believe me, much faster! She'll even be able to steal the food from his plate before he catches her!"

The boy shouldn't have said that, because now the girl was shouting out, coming close to hyperactivity. "Really? Whoa! She must be amazingly fast! I bet she's really strong too! Oh, I can't wait to see her!"

Soi Fon secretly eavesdropped the conversation and stood with her back turned to the chatting and excited bouncing couple. She rolled with her eyes, pretending to be irritated by the hyperactive energy which got released by the girl. But in reality, her thoughts were racing back at the memory of the purple haired female she had met this morning.

Could it be..? Yes, it must have been her. The woman who had appeared out of nothing, standing at the opposite of Soi, to intervene in the violent fight.  
It did sound logical to hear the woman achieved _Shunpo_. It must have been the reason why Soi hadn't been able to see her arrive. Yes, that all made sense.

"Which squad did she belong to again?" the girl asked.

The boy instead gave a sceptical look at the female. "Oh, come on, I told you like, what, a hundred times? The captain of squad two has disappeared for weeks already. He left without saying a word. He's nowhere to be found! So they had to find a successor. Which became Shihõin Yoruichi, famous because of her status and amazing skills."

"Right, sorry.. I didn't know you would get mad-"

Soi came back to reality, getting pulled out of her thoughts heavily, when she heard the boy mentioning the second squad. But after the boy had finished his phrase, Soi didn't listen to the reply of the female anymore, and so the babbling of the girl became a sweet hum in her ears. _Captain of squad two…? Wait, isn't it me who is in that squad as well? Squad two.. Yes.. That's my squad.. Does that mean.. oh god.. does that mean that.. she's my captain?!_

Soi couldn't help but laughing, such an overwhelming feeling rushed into her body, making her adrenaline pump up high. She had no idea why, but it just happened. Though she didn't care at all. Finally she had something to look forward to; she felt change was in the air.

And with a gentle jump, Soi walked away from the couple, and went inside the building. Looking over her shoulder just to be sure nobody had seen, well.. THAT.


	4. Gold meets grey

A/N: Heya!

Sorry for the wait, I was kinda busy last week (: And since I just came back from my vacation, I have a huge jetlag XD

I NEED SLEEEEEEEP. O,0 *twiches eye*

Anyway, I hope you'll enjoy the chapter!

xx

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_Chapter 4  
__Gold meets grey.  
_

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As soon as Soi entered the building, she saw head-captain Yamamoto standing, with next to him his loyal lieutenant Chōjirō Sasakibe. Instantly Soi felt the adrenaline she had had before fade away, and making place for some kind of panicking state.

What was _he_ doing here?

Quickly the small girl walked over to the place where other shinigami were standing, her feet were soundless on the wooden floor. There, the shinigami's waited for everyone to come in and listen to what the head-captain was about to say.

The ones which had been standing outside to have a little chitchat, came in very slow, still excited and babbling about the news. But when they noticed the firm head captain standing in their squad building, they quickly became silent, and shared uncertain glances. In the end, when everyone had gathered inside, Yamamoto stepped forward, and immediately all the members of the squad were aware of him.

"As you all know, the captain of the second division and his lieutenant, have disappeared time ago." Yamamoto started, his voice sounded a bit cracking but loud in the room. Everyone stood and listened, not even an inhale for breath sounded.

"We do not know why, and we will probably never know. Also we cannot find out where they are at this right moment, or even if they are still alive." Yamamoto continued. "That is why we came to the conclusion that a new captain is necessary for this division. A new captain is necessary to control the Secret Mobile Forces. A new captain.. is necessary in the Seireitei."

A silence followed after Yamamoto had spoken. But still nobody moved an inch. Everyone was waiting for the leader to continue.

"That is why we searched out, and found someone who is capable for that job. This person is the head of a noble family. The name of this family will sound familiar to most of you. And I want you to treat your new captain with the respect a member of the noble house deserves. The new captain of the Gotei's second division shall be, Shihõin Yoruichi."

After Yamamoto finished his phrase. The slim, purple haired woman walked in, looking around curiously to see the faces of the members which were going to be under her command. When the shinigami's saw their captain walked in, they all kneeled. Heads bowed, hands on the ground. Showing their respect, just like they were used to.

Soi kneeled down as well, her knee slightly touched the wooden floor underneath her. She made sure she was in the same pose as the rest of the squad, but couldn't help looking up from under her bangs, while the impressive captain came nearer. Following the woman with her gaze, she held her breath.

_It was her._

When Yoruichi walked in, she had immediately felt the tension in the room. As she moved forward through the lines of kneeling shinigami, her gaze wandered around.

The captain saw a lot of faces, except for the one she was looking for. Almost, Yoruichi gave up hope, and concluded Abarai Renji must have been wrong when he had told her about the girl in her office. But when she nearly reached the front, she finally found the person she was searching for.

_Guess it won't be tomorrow then.. I already found you.._ Yoruichi thought. She had a hard time, trying to keep a grin away from appearing on her face.

There she was, kneeling in one of the first rows. Her bangs were covering most of her face as she bowed, but Yoruichi felt their eyes meet. Sungolden eyes meeting cloudy grey. A sweet intense feeling flowed through the new captains body as this happened, but before it could grow bigger, the girl quickly averted her gaze and now looked at the floor, making it impossible for the captain to look her in the eye. Letting her bangs cover the rest of her face again, the girl made the impression she didn't dare to look up again, and to look the captain in the eye. At this fact, Yoruichi gave a little chuckle, things could get very interesting, and then finished her final meters to head-captain Yamamoto.

Soi Fon felt Yoruichi walk up behind her. She was coming closer and closer. The warm feeling she had in her belly crawled up via her neck and formed a small blush upon her cheeks. She looked up, only to lock her eyes into the ones of the dark-skinned woman for a split second. She felt the small blush suddenly glow and her head turned bright red. Quickly she looked down, her hair covering her blush. She bit her lip, trying to control herself.

Yoruichi walked up to Yamamoto. Once she reached him, she gave a short bow to show her respect to the man. At this movement, Yamamoto nodded, and left the room without any other words. The only thing to be heard was the rustling sound his haori made, as he walked out of the room.

When the man had disappeared, with his loyal lieutenant not far from his side, the members of the squad were still kneeling. Much to the dislike of Yoruichi.

"My, my. Stand up y'all. I can't talk to faces I can not even see."

Uncertain of what to do, the shinigami's slowly rose. It was extremely inconvenient, being told to stand up instead of bow. Especially to hear it from such a noble person, which was going to be their new leader. Once they stood, they looked at Yoruichi and waited for her to give further orders.

Yoruichi smiled a cat-like grin, and glanced over the heads to see if everyone was paying attention. Many shinigami's were looking her way, but again her eyes crossed path with the unmistakable grey ones.

It was the second time gold and grey eyes gazed at each other. And again it felt too intense for an ordinary glance. The sweet feeling Yoruichi had felt before, came back with more force, and it made her slightly dizzy. The glance only lasted for a short moment, though it was enough to make Soi Fon feel uncomfortable, and a slight pink colour reappeared on her cheeks.

As reaction, Soi averted her gaze off to the side, trying to hide the blush which was visible to everyone who would just look her way, including Yoruichi. And that was when her captain continued speaking.

"Much better." She stated. "Now that I'm having all of your attention, I can finally begin introducing myself."

Another wide grin followed as Yoruichi took a short break, still recovering from the grey eyes which seemed to pierce right through her. When she was able to continue, Yoruichi spoke again.

"As you've all heard from our beloved head-captain. I am Shihõin Yoruichi. Yes, I am a member of the noble house, but still I want all of you to just call me captain. No official or formal addressing. Just, captain. Understood?"

An inconvenient muttering rose up out of the shinigami group.

"Yes? Understood? Great!" Yoruichi silenced the group. "Then I have a new subject to carry on with."

Yoruichi had slightly rushed the first subject, because she had been too anxious to see the response at her second offer.

"Now, the next thing I want to inform all of you about, is that I want to hold a competition. Everyone knows, the captain's of the Gotei 13 all have a lieutenant, and I asked head-captain Yamamoto to let me choose the one from my squad myself. I want you all, each and every one of you, to go and train for this upcoming match. I give you two weeks to get ready. Then I'll arrange a place where the contest will be held. That will probably be at one of the training grounds in the Seireitei. The lieutenant will be chosen on three factors of who I will be the judge. The one who wins and shows to be the most skilled will have an advantage, but also how much effort you put in and how capable I think you are for the job. I think this is a great way to get to know all of you, and I expect everyone to do their very best. That was all for now, if you've got any questions about this, I'd like to hear them."

A silence followed.

"No questions?" Yoruichi let her eyes wander through the room. "Good, I guess I made myself very clear then. Though if you have any questions later, just come to visit me, and I'll be glad to answer them. Now then, I'll see you all at dinner tonight to celebrate this great happening."

After Yoruichi had spoken, all the members of the squad saluted her and kneeled again. Yoruichi rolled her eyes almost unnoticeable, and then walked away. But before she vanished out of sight, she gave one last glance at Soi Fon. A little smile made her lips curl. Then she shook her head and used _shunpo_ to leave.


	5. Cat's got your tongue?

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_Chapter 5  
__Cat's got your tongue?  
_

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_A contest, a contest, oh god, a contest!_

This was the first thought that entered Soi Fon's mind, as Yoruichi announced the subject. With a million of other thoughts circling into her mind, she had a hard time following the further stream of words her captain was blurting out. She was still embarrassed because of what had happened before. And it didn't do any good either that the blush was still visible on her cheeks.

With her head still averted from her captain, to avoid her golden eyes, she was already planning a training schedule in her mind, which she would be following for the upcoming weeks.

_I just need to show her all I have. But first, I've to get stronger, I've to get faster, I've to get worthy.. to be her vice-captain._

At this thought Soi peeked over to see her captain. By the movement of her head she saw the captain glancing over at her. Quickly she pretended everything was fine, looking away from Yoruichi's beautiful eyes to hide her upcoming blush, and pretend like there was no incontrollable chaos in her head.

As Yoruichi asked for further questions, Soi finished her training schedule, realizing she didn't hear the last things the captain had been saying. With confusion in her eyes, she looked over at the woman, who started to speak excitedly again, saying bye until they'd all meet again at dinner.

The group bowed as Yoruichi left, she was making soundless, but determent steps toward the door. When Yoruichi got out of sight, the group rose up, and immediately a whispering mutter started. Everyone was asking each other how they we're going to prepare for the upcoming match. Some people even made an appointment to train together somewhere quiet, or at the training grounds.

Soi instead, wasn't planning to ask a partner to train with. She preferred being alone in the forest, where nobody could intervene her training, nor her thoughts. The only thing that would be there were the birds, which would make their soft melodic whistling sound. And the leaves of the trees, which would wave along softly with a gentle breeze.

Looking forward to train now, Soi made her way out of the building. She felt refreshed, as she walked back home, meanwhile thinking about the things she had to gather and take with her to the forest. It was still early, just about ten a.m. There was enough time to do some training already, and it was good to check if her training schedule would work out the way she wanted. Also there was a lot of time left before dinner would start, and in the meantime she had nothing better to do anyway.

Once Soi had reached her house, she went inside and gathered a towel, a jacket, a bag and a bottle of water. She checked if her zanpaktou was still in place. After that she went to the kitchen and made herself lunch. As she wrapped it in plastic, she stuffed all things in the bag, making herself ready to be absent from home for the afternoon.

Closing the door carefully this time, to somehow say sorry that she kicked it this morning, Soi turned around, heading for the forest. In the forest, she told herself, she would look for an open place. There, she would be able to peacefully practise her moves. But for now, she first had to walk to get there, it was only a few miles away.

As Soi walked around the corner of the street, she almost bumped into a little black cat, which was looking at her curiously, her foot just inches away from its tail. She let out a small sigh, and removed her foot.

"Sorry." A soft mutter escaped her mouth, as she passed the cat, watching carefully not to step on the tail after all.

The girl continued walking, but as she kept moving, she felt watched. She glanced over her left shoulder, and saw the cat following her with a gentle pace, only some feet behind. Unsure about what to do, Soi stopped and bend over, waiting for the cat to come, and get stroked. When the little cat hesitated at Soi's sudden stop, the girl made a clicking noise with her tongue, encouraging the cat to come. The cat shook its head and headed towards Soi Fon.

Soi raised one brow in surprise. That cat couldn't have just shaken its head and rolled its eyes! She watched the cat again, examining it while it smoothly moved over at Soi in a gentle trot. There was no evidence left that the cat had expressed any emotion. Convincing herself she'd been wrong about it, that it must have been a trick of her mind, Soi held out her hand to the now, very close, animal. The cat hesitated for another moment, before carefully placing its head in the palm of Soi's hand.

The fur felt very soft under her palm, to Soi's surprise. And with care, she stroked the little cat's head, while it purred pleased. Continuing this pose for a while, the cat slowly opened one eye, to look at the girl which was caressing her.

Her face looked sweet, a lovely smile had made her lips curl, and the look in her eyes was adorable as she tickled the cat under its chin. Yoruichi grinned by herself, if that girl only knew she was that cat.

Then, Soi saw the cat looking at her. She'd been far too lost in thoughts to notice it before. When their glances met, she felt a little rush. Those eyes! The girl chuckled softly when she caught herself thinking about the captain's eyes she had seen before. These ones looked just like them. With one final stroke, Soi decided to get up. She was loosing too much time.

"I've to go now kitty. I'll see you again another time, okay?"

And with that, Soi continued her walk towards the woods. When she reached the end of the street, she turned her head to see if the cat was still sitting at its spot near the corner. But the only thing she saw was an abandoned street, with no sign of the animal. With a sigh, Soi carried on. Not knowing the cat was only a few meters above her, following her every move from the rooftop.

After some minutes walking in a stable pace, Soi reached the entrance of the forest. It looked so peaceful here. The trees invited her friendly to come in and the flowers spread out their lovely scent. The bees were making soft humming noises, as they circled around the colourful flowers. Soi was ready to enter her secret paradise, but before she did, she shifted her head back to the way she'd come from to see if nobody followed her.

Left. Nobody to be seen. The street was just as empty as it had been when Soi had walked through.

Right. No one there either. Though the thought of someone following her while she wouldn't notice almost made her laugh. She had always been good at feeling people sneak up on her.

Concluding everything was safe, Soi turned around to move forward and disappear into the forest. But before she even had the change to move her foot, she saw something drop down in the middle of the street from the corner of her eye. As fast as her reflexes would allow, she turned around, ready to block an attack if necessary.

When she saw the mysterious stalker turned out to be the little black cat, the frown on her face disappeared, and her eyebrows cocked up in surprise. The cat was sitting in the middle of the street, relaxed, as if it didn't do anything wrong. The black tail was softly swinging back and forth, in a stable rhythm, and the golden eyes seemed to laugh at Soi's reaction.

"Hey little one, you scared me." Soi spoke out, while she brought down her hands from their defensive position. A gentle smile curled her lips, making her expression it lit up as the sun broke through the clouds and shone on her face. Her raven black hair shimmered in the light.

The cat stopped waving its tail at this sight, and sat still like a statue. Then, Soi bend down once again and waited for the animal to come and get caressed another time. The cat got up its feet, and walked towards the girl to place its head in the soft palm.

"You followed me?" Soi whispered, while she stroked the cat. "That's really sweet, but you should watch out that you don't get lost little one."

The cat looked up when the girl started talking. Once she finished her phrases the animal gave her a daring gaze.

"Right. You're a cat. You wouldn't get lost, like some of us, people." The young woman muttered. Then she stood up. "Would you follow me too if I'd go into the forest?"

With care, Soi made her way though the beginning of the forest. Trying to crush as less flowers as possible, she tried to hop from one place to another. When she was almost half way through the field, she looked back at the cat, to see if it was following her here as well. When she didn't see the cat anywhere, she paused to be certain it was gone.

"It's probably for the best." She muttered. "I don't want the poor thing to get lost anyway."

Though inside she felt like the cat had betrayed her. Following her all the way to the forest, to leave her behind in the end. She shook her head and continued to hop through the field to reach the trees.

"Almost there" She huffed, when she prepared to make one last big jump, careful to not crush the flowers after all.

While standing on one leg, she looked up to see how hard she'd have to jump to reach the end. When she saw the cat casually staring at her, impatient swinging its tail back and forth, as if it was mocking her to be so slow, she lost her balance and fell backwards into the field of flowers.

"Ouch!" Soi cried out. While her head bumped into the ground. But as soon she lay down, she sat up again, looking up at the cat which was gazing at her with eyes of laughter.

"What the.." The girl muttered, as the cat got on his feet and jumped next to her. She couldn't say anything else, as the cat jumped on her chest, making her drop down a second time. When she lay on her back again, the cat lay down on her chest. Closing its eyes and purring softly. "Unbelievable.." The girl muttered. While softly stroking the little cat's head as she decided to lay here for another while, staring at the clouds and listening to the sound of the purring cat becoming quiet and starting to nap.


	6. Chasing the butterflies

A/N: _In this chapter, Soi sometimes will use the word "Neko" to refer to Yoruichi.  
For the ones who don't know, Neko is Japanese for cat, so actually she's just calling her "cat". _

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_Chapter 6  
__Chasing the butterflies.  
_

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Moments had passed by as the girl lay on the ground, watching the clouds fly over her and disappearing out of sight. Her hand was still resting on the cat, which hadn't moved and inch from her chest. The purr eventually had stopped, as the cat had fallen in a peaceful sleep. It felt so perfect to Soi.  
The sun was shining bright, and it was a very nice temperature to lie down and relax. It wasn't too warm, but not too cold either. Once in a while a little breeze softly caressed Soi's cheek and made her hair wave a bit on its rhythm. Sometimes she closed her eyes, just to listen at the birds singing their songs, and enjoying the sun which shone down on her.

Soi knew she actually made her way to the forest to train, but to lay in the grass with her little new friend, was just something she couldn't resist.

The animal felt warm on her chest, Soi opened one eye to look at her little friend, ready to wake the little sleeping creature. It was time to get up and do the planned workout to train her skills. It felt like she had lain down for centuries.  
The cat lay with its head on its crossed paws. The sun shone bright in the cat's face, which made the black fur reflect it. But the animal had its eyes squeezed together, so the sun wouldn't blind them.  
As soon as she noticed the movements of Soi Fon who was thinking of getting up, one eye snapped open, looking at Soi suspiciously.

"Hey little one." Soi whispered. As soon as the cat awoke, the girl's hand was stroking the cat's head, the animal immediately reacted by pushing its head in her palm, greatly enjoying the touch from the girl. "It's time to get up." She said. "You see, I've to train for this really important contest."

A smile crossed the female's features.

"It's for becoming a lieutenant! Lieutenant of the second squad! Can you imagine? Me being lieutenant. If I train really hard, I might be able to fight at the side of.. of .."

A faint blush appeared on her cheeks when she found herself thinking of standing next to the side of her captain during battle. The woman with her slender features and purple hair, standing next to her as if it was nothing.

"I might be able to fight together.. with.." Then she gave up. "I just want to become a lieutenant okay?! No further discussion!"

Yoruichi looked up confused at the finger which was only an inch away from her nose, pointed at her furiously. The hand was shaking a bit, as if it had cost the girl a lot of effort to raise it up.

The faint blush had now spread out over her face, and Soi's cheeks now could be compared with the colours of a flamingo.

Yoruichi laughed, this was just too cute. Quickly she got on her feet, walked past the pointing finger and pressed her little cat nose against the blushing girl's one, who had started blurting out all kinds of reason to become a captain, to hide her real motivation, and now abruptly became silent. Yoruichi wondered, could it really be the girl wanted to be her lieutenant so bad? Or was she just making things up herself.

_"Maybe you just want her to become your lieutenant, Yoruichi."_ A little voice in the back of her own head sounded.

_"Naaah, that's ridiculous. There are so many other shinigami's I will have to judge first, before I can make any conclusions."_ was what Yoruichi told herself instead.

The sighing girl then caught back her attention.

"Really.. cat, it's just that…" An unreadable expression crossed the girl's features.

"Do you have a collar, cat? " she suddenly muttered, while a soft silky hand slid down to the neck of the cat, causing a shiver through Yoruichi's spine. Yoruichi hadn't gotten the time to comprehend this sudden change of movement and especially not the place where Soi's hand headed.

When Soi found no collar, her hands went back to tickle under the cat's chin. "Yare, Yare. Then I'll have to get you a name myself. Unless you're suddenly able to talk.. Or better, could you maybe write your name in the sand for me?" The sarcastic tone in her voice made clear she hadn't forgotten the emotions or sceptical looks the cat sometimes seemed to give her.

Curious grey eyes wandered toward Yoruichi's. Golden eyes just blankly stared back at her, though, with a little twinkle of joy in them.

With a sigh Soi gave up and placed her head in her hands. Her eyebrows thoughtfully pulled together. "It could be." She said while shrugging her shoulders. "At least I tried."

That was it, Yoruichi was no longer able to hide a snicker. This girl was so funny. Quickly she turned around and jumped off the girl to hide her face in the flowers. Behind her, the girl got on her feet, dusting the grass and cat-hairs off her shirt.

A few minutes later the cat and the girl arrived at an open space in the forest. In the past, at this place had been used to cut the wood of which most houses were made, and the trees never had gotten the chance to truly recover. Though this happened a long time ago, and everyone had forgotten a place like this existed.

For Yoruichi it was the first time to come here. How could it have been she had never noticed such a beautiful place?

Everything was green. And between all these green trees and bushes, beautiful, colourful flowers were to be discovered. A lot of butterflies were flying in gently swirls around those flowers, all doing their own elegant dance, before striking down on a leaf to take a rest. There were big butterflies, small butterflies, colourful butterflies and almost invisible ones. It was really fascinating.

Also there were a lot of trees on the ground, which, because of their length and weight, had fallen. They probably crushed every living thing underneath them, but that was replaced with the beautiful sight the trees gave now. Moss had covered most of the inner bark, and sometimes a yellow or red mushroom appeared within the green chaos.

There was a little less sunlight, which was filtered through some leaves, causing beams of light, where you could see dust float in the air. Though most of the place was covered with shadow, creating a perfect temperature to train

"So, Neko, you like it?" Soi asked, when she saw the cat saunter around in a dazed motion, disappearing behind bushes and trees.

A confirming meow responded from behind a pink and white flower, and after a moment Yoruichi came back, chasing a beautiful purple with blue and yellow butterfly. The butterfly flew higher than Yoruichi, making her jump in the attempt to catch the beautiful being. The butterfly flew up, before cautiously settling down on Soi's shoulder.

With a smile on her face, the girl raised her hand towards the butterfly, encouraging it to hop on. As if the butterfly truly understood the female's words, it hopped on her hand. Soi moved her hand towards her face to examine the creature.

"That's a nice one, Neko-chan." Soi praised the cat. "Though you shouldn't hunt butterflies here. They are way too beautiful. Why don't you try to find some grass hoppers?"

A disagreeing meow came from below, and Yoruichi jumped up against Soi's legs, at an attempt to steal the butterfly back from Soi. At the movement of Yoruichi jumping and, though softly, digging her nails in Soi's leg, Soi instinctively raised her hand. This motion made the butterfly leave its safe spot on Soi's hand, and fly back in the direction it came from. The one mistake the butterfly made, was flying too low to the ground, and Yoruichi got back in action again, chasing the butterfly until it was unreachable behind the bushes.

"Really.." Soi shook her head, though a little smile made her lips curl.

The rest of the day eventually passed. Soi had been training some of her techniques, carefully watching every move herself, and correcting it if it didn't go as she desired. Yoruichi had found a comfortable soft place, and had settled down to watch the girl do her training. While following the girl's movements, Yoruichi had started thinking.

_Really. She is so driven. I wonder why she's pushing herself so hard. It's just today that I announced the match, so she still has the two weeks left to train._

A misstep made Soi lose her balance, and she shifted her foot to keep up. "Damn!" she cursed. "Again!" And started the ritual she'd done all over again.

_ Uff.. To start off this heavy.. I hope she keeps it up, otherwise I'll have to tell her to take it easy._

And like this the day had passed. The light on the open space had disappeared completely, and it started to get dark. The colourful flowers had closed their leaves, preparing themselves for the night.

_If you could only be a flower._ Soi thought, while finishing her training and settling down next to the laying cat._ Opening up with sunrise, closing when it becomes night. In the meantime spreading out a delicious scent for which many humans and animals is irresistible. Being admired, just because of your beauty. Life would be so much easier. _

Unfortunately Soi wasn't a flower, she had to go home and rest, just like everybody else. So she turned towards her tiny friend, and smiled a tired smile.

"So my little Neko. Are you ready to go home?"

Not expecting any answer, Soi began to caress the cat, she was just too adorable to keep your hands off. Besides that, the fur was really soft, so soft Soi could stroke it for hours, if only time let her. A purr broke the silence, in which a human would've answered Soi's question.

"You like that, eh?" Soi mumbled, while tickling the cat under its chin, which obviously, was its favourite spot. A meow confirmed this question, and the cat got up on its feet, only to settle down again in Soi's warm lap.

"Ahhh, seeking company eh?" Soi laughed. "Well I like you too, Neko."

A comfortable silence followed. Both human and (fake) cat were thinking, becoming one with the time that passed by. They didn't know in reality, their mind was one. Both were thinking about the future, battling at each other sides. Only Soi wasn't aware of the fact that she was caressing her captain, on her own lap.

After a while Soi realized with a shock that it had become dark, and the forest around her had become a black hole with spooky shadows which you could hardly call trees.

"Damn, sorry Neko. I guess I was too lost in thoughts. We really should head home for now. Even if I'd like to sit here with you for a longer amount of time."

Soi gently picked up the cat from her lap, to give it a little hug, before placing it on the ground before her. Then she got up and, once again, dusted all the cat-hairs and pieces of earth from her Shinigami suit.

"I only hope I'll find the right way back to the city.." Soi muttered, after she had examined the ways which lead away from the open space.

A little meow made her look down at the place where Yoruichi stood. The cat was standing at one side of the open space, softly waggling its tail. Then it began to walk, disappearing into the woods.

"Neko! Wait!" Soi Fon ran towards the place where the cat had disappeared. "Really, I'd appreciate if you could at least let me know where you are."

A meow sounded through the forest from Soi's right side. "Right. That way I guess."

A few meows later Soi started to worry about the direction the cat was going. "Neko!" Soi shouted towards a dark shadow, which probably was a fallen tree. "Are you sure about the way we're going?"

A indignant meow made clear the cat had no doubt about the way of direction, and the face that Soi even considered asking, was the most stupid thing ever. Soi sighed heavily. "You'd better be right." She grumbled, before hitting a branch with her head.

"Ouch! Damnit!"

A questioning meow.

"Yes I'm alright. If that was what you were asking."

A satisfied meow.

"… Really. What is it with you?"

Finally Soi saw some light shine though the last trees of the forest. She started to fasten her pace, and in the end she arrived at the edge of the city. Yoruichi already sat in front of her on the ground. Licking her paw and throwing mocking glances at the girl. When she saw Soi noticed her, she gave a teasing meow.

"Okai, Okai, Neko. You were right about the direction all along." Soi admitted. "Though you could've been more precise about your description.."

Yoruichi made a sound in disagreement.

"You're right, I won't blame you, because, after all.. You're just a cat, right?"

At this question Yoruichi did not answer. She stood up and walked towards the houses, which were closed and shielded against the dark night.

"You know, Neko. I think I figured out how to call you from now on." Soi shouted, while quickly running after the cat, which had turned her back on Soi.

At this statement Yoruichi turned around, and cocked out a chuckling meow.

"You want to know?" Soi said, while she grinned victoriously.

Yoruichi pretended to be annoyed, but looked up at Soi Fon with questioning eyes.

"Cho." Soi pronounced the name soft and slowly. "From now on, I'll call you Cho."

**-------------------------------------------------------**

**A/N: *Cho is a Japanese name, which means butterfly.**


	7. I say yes when I ought to say no

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_Chapter 7  
__I say yes when I ought to say no.  
_

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_So it's Cho __then, eh? _Yoruichi thought, while shoving away half of the paperwork which she had done. Absent minded she began to scribble something down on her hand.

_Really, that girl is something. Coming up with a CAT name for me, for god's sake. Mm.. I __should give her some extra points for that. _Yoruichi snickered. _I should also add some points for her training persistence. Though I hope she won't overdo things. _

_Note.. note.. where is my notebook.._

Yoruichi got up and shove aside some of the papers lying on her desk in an attempt to find her little notebook.  
It was the morning after, and she had gone to the office to get a huge pile of paperwork done for the administration. It was still early, but it would take a while before she'd be able to finish, so she would end up spending half her day in the office.

Just what she was looking forward to.

Not.

After searching though the piles of paper, Yoruichi bent down to look under her desk. When there was nothing to be found, except some old candy papers, Yoruichi sighed, got back up and dropped down her pen on the desk with force.

Where was that damned notebook?

She looked down at her hands, silently cursing herself for being such a messy person and thinking about a place where that stupid thing could be playing hide and seek. It was an irrational thought, thinking a notebook could play hide and seek, but she just didn't want to blame herself for losing it, since was probably her own fault placing it somewhere illogical, only to lose it after her attention had drifted towards something else. Probably Soi Fon.

She immediately forgot about the notebook when she saw she had written something on the back of her hand. Raising it towards her face, she read the word written down in a graceful handwriting with a little heart right next to it.

**Cho.**

_Great._ Yoruichi grumbled. She just couldn't seem to concentrate today. First of all she had started filling in the papers wrong. Then she had noticed she was wearing her pants inside out and on top of that it must have been a hilarious scene to see her take it off and put it back on, while keeping her boots on and standing half naked in her office. Besides that she had just spilled her coffee over some of the paperwork she had finished so that she had to clean it up, fill a new cup and before she knew it, thirty minutes had passed and she hadn't finished a thing, except for the –now in coffee drenched- paperwork, which she had thrown away.

This was nothing like her. Usually, she made a cup of coffee, took some papers from the enormous pile and started filling them in. But now just -everything- seemed to go wrong.

A big sigh escaped from the cacao-skinned woman and she threw her arms on the desk to bury her face in.

And the notebook was still missing.

A grumble came out of the miserable-feeling piece of human, lying on the desk.

_Meh!.Stupid notebook.. Just when I had taken some important notes for a change.. Mm.. .I wonder... What will she be doing now? Could it be she's already awake? Though yesterday, she was exhausted. She fell asleep in less than 10 minutes._

The image of Soi sleeping drifted back in her vision and Yoruichi lifted her head up to smile and placed it on her arms in a relaxing position.

_So cute.. Maybe I should go check on her! Making sure she isn't working too hard... Ah.. no, I have to check on the other members as well.. shit.. mm.. what if I go checking on them first.. Seeing what they're up to, what kind of training they're following and if they're not fooling around too much.. Then maybe if I've got some time left.. I could go to the forest… That sounds like a plan…Mm.. Maybe she isn't even there…Then I can go back and finish this.. shit._

"Right, let's go!" Yoruichi spoke out loud, and marched toward the door. When she had just reached the door, something blue on the floor caught her attention. Almost from an instant she froze. This couldn't be happening. With two quick paces she had reached the place where her little notebook was lying on the floor, and picked it up. Seeing the blue notebook made her furious.

"You stupid piece of junk!" Yoruichi yelled, and threw the notebook towards her desk.

The notebook shove over the paperwork, towards her new filled cup of coffee.

"Oh no.."

In a few seconds the notebook had hit the cup and now the spilled coffee had spread out over the table, covering the rest of the paperwork, which she had been able to save from the previous cup of coffee, in a brown liquid.  
The warm drink started dripping down from her desk on the wooden floor, creating a little pool around her chair.

"No no no no no no no no." Yoruichi stammered. "Shit."

Rapidly she ran back to the place where a new chaos had begun. "Nooooo.. Come on!" Yoruichi yelped, when she picked up the, now in coffee covered, notebook. She held it up in the air, while drips were falling down in a stable rhythm.  
Yoruichi's eyebrows narrowed together. She shook her notebook back and forth to let the drips fall faster, causing a bigger mess with the splatters which, now, danced all around on her desk.

In the end, dismay got the best of her as she flung the notebook at the far end of the wall with all her force. Her mood had gone from bad to worse, and she couldn't bear anything else going wrong to happen, or she'd explode.

Fast she ran out of the office, transforming into her cat form as she left the dripping coffee from her desk and the wall, behind, as well as her clothes.

Her notebook was still lying opened on the floor, though the letters and numbers weren't to be distinguished from each other, nor the coffee for that matter.

--

After running around for over thirty minutes in her cat form, Yoruichi finally started to calm down. In her mind she was still cursing herself and her notebook, but now she realized there was nothing she could do about it, and it already happened anyway, her tense muscles started to relax.

_As a reward for this frustrating scene, I think I'm allowed to just take a peek, right?_ Yoruichi thought, as she shove away some branches with her paw.

She had already ran towards the forest in her furious temper, but she hadn't noticed the place she had arrived before she had soothed down. Now she was already near the training spot she and the petite girl had been the day before.  
When Yoruichi walked into the jungle-like training area, she saw Soi Fon was doing some meditation to increase her concentration. Her legs were crossed and her eyes closed, making the girl actually look sweet, instead of the cold face she normally wore.

_Perfect._ Yoruichi started secretly plotting a plan to scare the shit out of Soi. _Hahaha. I'll just jump on her, hehe. She'll be so surprised that she'll fall backwards, which will land me on top of her, ghehe. Mrrr~. _Yoruichi purred villainous.

Each step she placed her small paws on the ground with the greatest concentration and care and she started to sneak towards Soi Fon. As she made sure she didn't make a sound, she slowed down her breathing to the bare minimum. When she was about one meter away from the girl, her body pressed low on the ground, Soi's eyes snapped open, busting Yoruichi, who was just about to jump.

"HAH!" Soi yelled, while picking the jumping Yoruichi out of the air, crushing the cat into a loving snuggle. "I knew you would come!"

Yoruichi, who was too stunned to say something, got crushed against Soi's chest when the girl picked her out of the air.

_H-h-how did she know that? _Yoruichi stammered in her mind. _I'm SURE I slowed down my breathing, so low it was almost unhearable, I placed my paws with care, and I'm sure I didn't made a single sound while on my way to her. __Then.. how?_

"Ah, Cho. Did I surprise you?" Soi Fon's sweet voice asked. "I'm sorry. I was practicing my hearing concentration. It's for the contest, remember? I need to be able to notice the opponent coming at me from all sides. Then it's in your advantage to be able to hear when and from where they are coming."

_Makes s__ense, makes sense. _Yoruichi pondered. _But still, you shouldn't have been able to hear me. I masked my complete reiatsu, made sure there was no sound at ALL, and still, you're able to hear me sneaking up on you. How? Just how did you do that, Soi? Mm.. Maybe you're more special then I thought. It'll be interesting to see how you develop further, I want to know more about you, about your abilities. I'll make sure to be here watching you train from now on. Though.. I should have finished my paperwork by now.._

_--_

In an office miles away from the forest, a shinigami knocked onthe door of the 2nd division's office. "Shihõin-taichou? Gomen nasai for disturbing you. But I'm here to collect the Seireitei's paperwork." A little girl stood in front of the office, holding the already collected paperwork from the other squads in her small hands. Her black hair was bound together in a tight ponytail, and her bangs covered one of her eyes. Shihõin taichou was the last one to give her the papers, and now she wasn't answering the knocks on the door.

Hesitating, the girl knocked another time. "Shihõin-taichou?" When no response came at all, the girl shove the door aside, only to reveal the big mess inside the office to herself. Her eyes grew bigger as she realized all the paperwork she had to collect lay scattered all across the room. On the ground were pools of some sort of brown liquid, and a coffee smell made its way towards the open door. Besides that, a blue little notebook lay on the floor, under a big brown spot on the wall which only could've been caused by something drenched in coffee which had been flung against it.

A little yelp escaped from the girl's mouth. She didn't realize this yelp had been pretty hard and echoed trough the 2nd division's quarters. In less than a minute, some shinigami came running around the corner to look for the cause of the noise. When they saw the girl standing in front of an opened office from their captain, they immediately ran towards her. The paperwork the girl had been holding lay scattered on the floor, and her arms were handing motionless against her body.

"Kiri-san!" some of the shinigami shouted. "What happened? Are you okay?"  
When they had reached the girl, a captain had already arrived before them, and was now standing next to her.

"Yare, Yare. What a mess." The long haired man spoke. A hat covered most of his face and his flower coat was waving with the breeze, along with his curly brown hair.

"Kyouraku-taichou!" one of the shinigami's shouted.

"Kyouraku-taichou…" the girl whispered softly, dropping her shoulders. "Gomen nasai, I haven't been able to collect the last paperwork.."

"I... See." Her captain replied, while using his right hand to scratch just under the edge of his hat.


	8. The house of a loner

_A/N: Hey guys!  
Sorry for taking so long to upload. It's been a few hard last weeks at school, but I finally made it!  
Hooray! __And I'll go on vacation tomorrow to Italy, I'm looking foward to it (:_

_Sorry for the wait, but I hope you enjoy!  
_

_x_

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_Chapter 8  
__House of a loner.  
_

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The following days, Yoruichi was nowhere to be found. Different squads were searching for the purple haired captain, but none of them had been able to find a trace of the woman.

Yoruichi knew she was in trouble. Avoiding it wouldn't make it better either, but she just couldn't turn back now, not yet. First of all she hadn't finished her paperwork, which was very disobedient towards the duty of a captain and second of all, she had trashed her office, making a huge mess of everything.

It happened a few days ago. Yoruichi had gone to Soi after making a mess of her office, escaping all the stress which had been gathered together in her body. After some time of relaxing and watching Soi train after she'd been busted in her attempt to make her scared, a hell butterfly had arrived. Soi had been very surprised, and had listened to the announcement the hell butterfly had given her.

"All members of the second squad are asked to gather at the second squad quarters. I repeat; All members of the second squad are asked to gather at the second squad quarters."

That was how they had gone to the second squad. Yoruichi had come along, wondering what could've been the reason for this gathering, though somewhere deep inside she had already known; someone had seen her office.

Soi Fon had walking inside the building, and Yoruichi had followed her, taking place on her lap once the girl had settled down on the floor.

A shinigami had explained the situation, and asked if anyone had seen their captain around. When there was no positive result that anyone had seen her, the meeting was dismissed, leaving the message with them that if they saw the captain, they had to ask her to go to head-captain Yamamoto, who was waiting for her and for an explanation for the unfinished paperwork.

Yoruichi hadn't been ready to go to the head-captain that day, neither she was now. And that was how she had stayed at Soi Fon's side for four days in a row.

She had followed the girl again after the meeting. Soi hadn't been in the mood to train anymore, because now she was worrying where her purple haired goddess could be. Because of that, Soi, together with Cho, had walked through the Seireitei in an attempt to find the goddess herself, asking what was going on. She didn't know that in reality, the female had walked next to her all the way.

In the end they had gone to Soi Fon's home, and Soi had offered Yoruichi to come in. Being curious to know how the girl's house looked like from the inside, Yoruichi had accepted the invitation and walked in. Once she had gone inside, she never wanted to leave again.

The house wasn't big, but it was big enough for one person to live in peace. The furniture was looked old, yet stylish and big windows let in beams of sunlight. The house smelled fresh, just like Soi and it gave away a peaceful aura. Yoruichi had walked into the living room and after that she had gone to the kitchen. The kitchen was simple and practical. Just as to be expected from Soi Fon. She didn't have things she thought were not necessary. There was standing a plate and a cup with some tea left in it from this morning. Further the kitchen was clean, and there were no unnecessary things left around. Then Yoruichi had made her way upstairs to see the bathroom and the bedroom. Soi Fon had followed her all the way through the house, secretly laughing behind her hand because of the curious cat.

The bathroom had a light-caramel-like colour and a big sink was placed against the wall. A medium sized mirror hung against the wall just above the sink. Yoruichi jumped on the sink, to examine it further. In the mirror she could see herself reflected. Behind her stood Soi, smiling at the cat via the mirror, which was looking at her.

The girl walked towards the sink and started to wash her hands, just to have something to do to, waiting for the cat to finish looking around, but after she'd done so, she left the crane open. She looked at Yoruichi and a teasing smile appeared on her face. With her hand she splattered some of the streaming water towards Yoruichi to scare the cat. Yoruichi, who hadn't seen this coming, jumped backwards and in an attempt to escape from the drips coming her way.

She hated water when she was in her cat form, it felt bad on her fur.

Still the drips landed on Yoruichi, even when she had tried to avoid it. Now Yoruichi let out a complaining meow, but quickly came up with a plan to give Soi her payback.

Yoruichi stretched her paw so that she could reach the water coming out of the crane, and tried as best as she could to copy Soi's move from before, but with her paw instead of her hand. It worked, and splatters flew towards Soi Fon, making her clothes wet and causing a laugh kick from the girl as Yoruichi started splashing more and more water towards her friend.

"Hey hey!" Soi laughed. "That's enough like this!"

Yoruichi, who had the best fun since time teasing the girl, kept on splattering water towards her, not even considering stopping.

When Soi noticed her little Cho had no intention to stop splattering the water towards her, she moved back to the sink and started to splatter water back. And a small water fight between cat and human began.

Because Soi had hands, it turned out to be unfair, and soon Yoruichi was soaked till her bones and her fur started to stick together making the black colour shine bright. Soi instead hadn't stayed dry either, and her shinigami top had become pretty soaked. When both cat and human were drenched, Soi shut off the crane, still laughing cheerfully.

Yoruichi grinned and stared at the girl's face, which was covered with joy and water.

_So she can laugh too, how cute._

Soi's laughter was soft, and a little hoarse, causing a shiver going through Yoruichi's spine, but that could also have been because of the water dripping down from her back. The soft laughter continued for a little while and in the end Soi grinned at Cho.

"Thanks a bunch, Cho." She said, and ruffled Yoruichi's hair against the hair-direction.

After a moment of silence, Soi Fon burst out into another laughter.

"Hahahah! You look so ridiculous!" the girl laughed, making Yoruichi wonder what she had done to her fur.

When the cat had looked into the mirror, she understood Soi's sudden outburst, and turned away from the girl to hide her own laughter. Her hair was standing straight up, causing it to be a mohawk. It indeed looked ridiculous, just like Soi had said. For a moment, Yoruichi thought about changing back to her human form, just to see if her hair would have a mohawk there too, but decided it was better to keep her identity secret for another while. Besides, she didn't know how Soi Fon would respond to her sudden revealing of her human form. Especially not to her sudden naked body.

Suddenly Yoruichi realized Soi Fon's laughter had disappeared and when she looked behind her, she saw the girl had left. Fast Yoruichi jumped off the sink, looking around her for places where Soi could have had gone to. When she walked into the hallway, she saw a door opened at her left side and walked towards it to take a little peek inside the room.

There she saw Soi standing with her bare back turned towards the door. She was holding her wet shinigami top in her hands and tried to pull another one out of her closet, causing a waterfall of clothes falling down since she tried to pull it out with one hand.

When Yoruichi saw Soi was ready to turn around and expose herself to her, she quickly shot back into the hallway, her heart pounding wild and her eyes wide open in shock. She heard Soi curse, but was too shocked about what she had almost seen to care about it. Her nails were digged into the carpet and her hair was even standing straighter up in a mohawk than before.

_H-h-hah…hh—uh.. _Yoruichi chuckled speechless.

"Cho?" Soi's sweet voice came floating out of the room. "Are you okay?"

The door opened further, and Soi appeared into the doorpost.

_Please let her be dressed. _Yoruichi thought, while squeezing her eyes shut.

Silky hands fowled around Yoruichi's body. Lifting her up in the air, before being held against something… soft. Soft, but no bare skin.

_Thank god!_ Yoruichi praised and opened her eyes to look at the one who was holding her in her arms.

Soi Fon had changed her shinigami top for a big warm sweater and was now looking at her little friend with concern in her cloudy grey eyes. Yoruichi let out a sigh of relief and gave a little meow as response to Soi's question.

"Oh, are you sure? Well I guess it's okay then. But you're still soaking wet." Soi mumbled. She took out a towel and started wrapping the cat in it. Then she pressed the little cat against her chest and began drying the cat with a firm hand. Yoruichi her eyes flew open in shock. She felt her fur dry with the small electric pulses from the towel. After a minute or two the girl suddenly stopped rubbing the cat in the towel. She unwinded the trapped Yoruichi.

As soon as she saw her chance the black cat ran behind Soi's back. She thought she'd die. Soi Fon just solemnly sat there and patiently waited for the cat to return.  
After a while hiding and coming to her senses a bit, Yoruichi discovered the rubbing with the towel actually made her fur flow smoothly around her body again. Soi turned around and caressed Cho's back, creating a loud purring sound coming out of Yoruichi's cat-chest.

After this towel adventure they had gone to the living room and had spent the rest of the day together. Just hanging around and relaxing.

Dinner had been delicious. Soi had made some fish for Yoruichi and some rice for herself to combine it with. They had lain on the couch together and Soi had felt so relaxed that she had drifted towards dreamland for a little while with Cho laying on her lap. In the evening Soi had gathered her training schedule to see how much she'd get behind because of today.

Yoruichi, being curious what the actual training schedule of the girl was, had looked at it as well and concluded this girl was really trying hard to win the upcoming match.

After Soi had finished correcting the training schedule, they had gone to bed. Yoruichi had made sure to be out of the room when Soi had changed into her pyjamas, but when she came back and saw Soi in a beautiful nightgown which she had never imagined the girl would ever try on, it was as bad as seeing her naked and she had ran away out of the room in an instant.

In the hallway she had calmed herself down, telling her mind not to think about dirty little thoughts and went back into the room, only to find out Soi had already slid under the curtains and there was nothing to worry about anymore. Yoruichi had jumped onto the far end of the bed and settled down satisfied at a place near Soi's feet. Then she had examined the room before the light had gone out.

The bedroom was simple, just as the rest of the house had been. Though this room was decorated more modern, with modernistic lights and furniture made of wood.

In the left corner of the room stood a little red couch and behind it stood a big bookshelf covered with books. The carpet was a dark red colour and had been extremely soft under Yoruichi's paws. A big white closet was standing on the right, just next to the door. The shinigami tops had been stocked back into the closet, so that the floor was now empty. On the door hung a copy of the girl's training schedule, and…

Then the light had switched off.

"Cho?" Soi called out after a while.

"Meow?"

A silence followed and Yoruichi thought the girl had already fallen asleep, but then she heard a deep, tired, sigh.  
Yoruichi stood up and walked carefully towards the place where Soi's face should be, ready to retreat if the girl ordered her to do so. But Soi didn't reject the cat as Yoruichi got nearer and Yoruichi placed her little wet nose against Soi's to encourage her to relax.

The girl laughed softly and pulled Yoruichi towards her chest, encouraging the cat instead to settle down. Once Yoruichi lay down, the girl started to caress her. The even sound of the low purr eventually made Soi sleepy and the caressing stopped, but the girl's hand kept laying on Yoruichi's back.

" 'Night Cho." Soi's whispered, sounding sleepy after all.

"Meow."

_Goodnight, Soi._

-------------

The following days had gone in a routine. They had woken up together, had breakfast together, went to train together in the forest and Yoruichi had slept in Soi Fon's arms. Though in the meantime, everyone still had been searching for Yoruichi, causing an uproar in the Seireitei about where she could be. Yoruichi hadn't gone to the headmaster yet because she had had too much fun being together with Soi, though now it was time to really go back. And with that we go back to where the present is now.


	9. I'll show you what I'm worth

_A/N: Good GOD, this took too long.  
I've been trying to write a new chapter for ages now, I'm so sorry guys, but I've had a huge writers block.  
It sucked pretty much, but I think I know how to continue the story now._

_Furthermore I haven't been doing so well lately, so I didn't want to continue the story at all. I even thought about canceling the story, but I'm glad I didn't._

___Also I'd like to thank all of you who have read my story and commented and faved it. It really encourages me to continue writing it, even though it's my first fanfic, so:**THANK YOU ALL **_

_Also I'd like to thank my sister, for always supporting me and reading my fic before I upload it 3 Thanks!_

_Enjoy please, it's a pretty long chapter! And I'd love to hear what everyone thinks about it._

_xoxo_

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_Chapter 9  
__I'll show you what I'm worth.  
_

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Yoruichi didn't like it. She didn't like it at all.

In the morning, she had left Soi Fon's home without waking the still sleeping girl. After she had double-checked if the girl was really sleeping, she had transformed into her human form to unlock the door. She hadn't said goodbye, if a cat could possibly even do that, and had just left without a warning. She knew Soi Fon would be upset about this, seeing they had been together for quite some time, and it did make Yoruichi feel guilty. Specially since she knew she wouldn't have time to visit Soi Fon any time soon in her cat form, as Cho. She sighed. And now she had to confront Head-captain Yamamoto as well. Well, you could almost say it was her lucky day…

It was still early, quiet and peaceful in the streets of the Seireitei and Yoruichi was on her way to the dorms of the first squad. Just walking in a gentle trot, she considered her options; Or telling the truth, which was .. what exactly? Or quickly think of an excuse for her own behaviour, which had been extremely off.  
Yoruichi had decided to take a walk to the quarters instead of using shunpo. Shunpo would only make her arrive too fast for her own liking. And she wasn't ready to arrive just yet.

_What am I going to say? What am I going to say.. for heaven's sake? _Yoruichi muttered to herself. Yare, Yare.. _It's absolutely no good.. _

After a while of walking and brainstorming about excuses, she finally arrived at the dorms of the first squad. She hadn't found out what she wanted to do or say yet, but considered herself creative enough to come up with something excellent when she would be inside. The big doors of the head-captain's office thought differently, and stared down at her dangerously.

_This… is going to be a challenge._Yoruichi frowned. While looking up at the huge wooden doors, which blocked her path.

_Hah! Whatever.. I'll show them something, it'll be alright._

She tilted her head up to face her fate which was waiting for her behind those doors, and replaced her frown to smile her crooked smile. It'll all work out fine, come on. She was Shihõin Yoruichi, how could things possibly not work out fine? And if it turned out to be worse, she'd just go back to her family house and take care of further business there.  
With this is in mind Yoruichi knocked on the door, and went inside.

--

Ok, things were definitely not going to work out fine. Definitely not. Yoruichi walked out of the office, a huge amount of papers stocked in her arms and her face unreadable. She was lucky not be thrown out of the Gotei 13 immediately. The truth was, they needed her. It had been hard enough for them to find a successor, and they couldn't let go of her just yet.

The talk with the head-captain had been very stiff and awkward, not to mention Yoruichi hadn't come up with a better excuse for her behaviour, so she had end up telling half of the truth about what happened; Her frustrated attempt to finish her paperwork, the coffee cups, the notebook and that she had ran away from all of it.  
It all seemed very silly now, and a faint blush of embarrassing had covered Yoruichi's face. Of course she hadn't said a word about Soi Fon and her visit there, nor she had told the head-captain the truth about where she really had been the last few days.

While Yoruichi had been explaining her behaviour, the head-captain hadn't said a word to interrupt her. When Yoruichi had been out of words as well as out of breath, he had finally spoken and given her some 'work' to do. Another task would be waiting for her in a few weeks. That's all he said.

With a smack Yoruichi dropped the pile of paperwork on her desk. This wasn't exactly what Yoruichi called 'some work to do'. The amount of the papers laying on her desk was outrageous. Filling in all these would take her all week. Not to mention, there was a certain deadline for each evening; 150 papers a day.

"So.. I guess that's what you get from disobeying the rules." The captain muttered. _In the end, I always manage to make things worse for myself than they already were. Way to go Yoruichi, way to go. I'd better get started, or I won't even make the first deadline.. _

The woman took place behind her desk once again. She decided coffee wouldn't be any help today, or ever again when doing her paperwork as captain. She looked at the papers, took some of the pile, and started to fill them in.

--

The week had eventually passed fast. And Soi Fon could feel she had gotten stronger over the days.

The match had been coming closer and closer, and even though her little friend had gone missing, she hadn't allowed herself to slow down her training, even for one little bit. When she had noticed in the morning that her company was gone, she had first searched through the house to find her. Also she had searched through Seireitei, but when she still couldn't find a trace, she decided that if the cat liked her enough, she'd come back. Still it had hurt her inside, a feeling of betrayal, missing, which only gave her a reason to train harder and forget everything around her.

The last two weeks she had been training to improve her hearing skills, her dexterously, her techniques and her concentration. And it had certainly paid off. She couldn't wait to start the match, and show the other shinigami who would be the best. She hoped she had trained enough, hard enough, and that she'd be able to beat all of them. At least then she could say her training schedule had been successful, and she'd be able to show her captain she was worthy to be under her command.

Talking about captains. She had heard the dark skinned woman had come back and had visited the head-captain. She didn't know what result that had given, but at least her captain was back. This meant her training hadn't been for nothing, and the match would continue. This thought really eased her mind, and made Soi eager to train even more.

_Just wait, captain. I'll show you what I'm worth._

--

A day before the match. Yoruichi had send a hell butterfly to gather all her squad members together at the dorms. Soi Fon, who had been at her usual training spot in the forest, had jumped up enthusiastically and ran all the way to the second squad's quarters. Arriving there she noticed she wasn't out of breath at all, and that really boosted her self-confidence.  
With a small smile on her lips she walked inside, making the other shinigami's throw weird glances at her, wondering what could have happened in the past few weeks to make Miss Ice Queen smile.

The girl suited herself between the other shinigami, and let her eyes wander through the room.  
There she was. Her own goddess in person. The purple haired woman stood in front of the room, talking to some shinigami males. Her arms made gentle movements while she spoke, and her hair, which always seemed to be a bit jumpy, moved along as she shook her head and laughed. Her laugh. Something else which seemed to be perfect about her. The sound was warm and cheerful and the sight of it made her whole face light up. Also her eyes shimmered happily and Soi Fon could see she was excited about something.

While Soi kept staring at the woman from her place in the audience, Yoruichi asked the shinigami about their experiences and discoveries from the two training weeks. Did they think they were ready for it? Or were they still uncertain? The males seemed to think about this for a while, and in the meantime Yoruichi scanned the room.

She noticed Soi Fon was in the room as well. She could feel her reiatsu coming from her right side. She was able to easily recognise the girl's reiatsu, since the girl had trained with Cho by her side. She turned her head and sought for the grey eyes she knew would be in the room somewhere. When she found them she saw the girl was looking her way. Yoruichi smiled a big flashy smile at her, and winked, before turning back to the conversation between her and the men.

_RUSH._

Soi Fon could feel her heart accelerate as the woman suddenly looked her straight in the eye.

_RUSH._

No way to escape the feeling which bubbled up inside her when she saw that toothy smile.

_RUSH._

N-n-n-no way. Did she just..?!

Soi Fon instantly turned away her gaze away from the woman. She looked down at her hands, which were shaking terribly. _Calm.. Down! Stupid hands! Don't do this to me!_ She squeezed them together to make sure they stopped shaking. Unfortunately, they didn't. Why? Why did that woman make her feel this way? What is it that she just couldn't avoid those golden eyes piercing right through her very soul? Warming up her whole body from the inside. Making her hands shake like crazy and her head spin dizzily.  
Her heart seemed to have trouble keeping up with the blood which rushed through her body. She knew it would only be a matter of some seconds, before it would be visible on her cheeks. _It's just a woman! A woman! My captain for god's sake! What is __**wrong**__ with me?!_

Yoruichi looked uncertain at her right side from the corner of her eyes. She could feel Soi Fon's reiatsu had gotten out of control just a second ago. Now it had gotten less, but it still seemed to shudder a little. _Could it be..? Naah, that couldn't be it._ Could it have been because she had given the girl a wink? At this thought, a little feeling of joy bubbled up from her insides. _Be reasonable, Yoruichi! It's not like you're a goddess or something. _She restricted herself. But despite she kept saying this to herself, she couldn't help but smile.

"Shihõin- taichou?" On of the males spoke.

"What? Oh.. Sorry.. I was, eh, just thinking about some paperwork I still have to do." Yoruichi muttered a little embarrassed. The guys raised their eyebrows. Smiling about paperwork?

"Look, why don't you all go to your places, and I'll explain the final rules for tomorrow." Yoruichi stated quickly.

"Hai, Taichou." The men said. They gave a little bow towards her, and walked away.

When the men were settled, Yoruichi sighed. She threw a quick glance at the place Soi Fon sat, and saw the girl was still looking down, her bangs covering her face. Her reiatsu still shuddered a bit, but it was unnoticeable for the ones who didn't pay attention to it. The rest of the shinigami looked at the captain silently, waiting for her to start speaking.

"Well.. Welcome back at the second squad dorms." Yoruichi started her talk. "As you all remember, I hope, or there would be something terribly wrong with you, two weeks ago I told you all about a match. The match which will be held tomorrow to decide which of you will be my lieutenant."

Yoruichi took a little pause, and looked around the room to inspect all the faces which looked at her with interest. Everyone was looking at her, except one person; Soi Fon, who was still looking down at her hands to control them.

"First of all I'd like to give a compliment to all of you. The past two weeks you've all been training hard, some more determined than others, but I'm happy everyone took this competition seriously." The captain continued. "You may not have noticed, but I've watched over all of you, seeing how seriously everyone trained, and how much effort you have put into this training."

Some shinigami looked at each other questionably. Watched over them? They hadn't seen her for days.

At the sight of the confused shinigami, Yoruichi gave a little smile. "So.. I must say I haven't been able to check on everyone in the first week, but I managed to get it done in the second week, despite of all the paperwork I had to do. I'm not going to tell you how I've followed each of you, that's my little secret." She laughed, and her face became cheerful.

A little muttering rose from the group.

"So." Yoruichi silenced everyone again. "Tomorrow's the big day, and before that I need to tell all of you some last things. First of all, the competition will be held at training ground Hachi in the east of the Seireitei. It will start at 11 a.m, and I expect all of you to be on time. Being late means decreasing of your points, and you'll start at -5. Also there will be two rounds. One will be the normal competition, where all of you will face each other, and the second will be a surprise round. Nobody can prepare themselves for that. That's all I'll say about it. If you have any questions, please ask."

It remained silent.

"Ok, thank you for your attention, I guess this is it for now, you're all dismissed"

Yoruichi watched all of the shinigami rise and leaving the room in small groups. One girl walked to the exit alone, with a distracted look on her pretty face.

"Hey, Soi Fon, was it?" Yoruichi called after the girl, which nearly had reached the exit.

Soi Fon froze in the doorstep and turned around stiffly. "Hai, taichou." She spoke uncomfortably. Her voice seemed to shake a little. The rest of the shinigami had left by now, and the only ones remaining in the room were Soi Fon and the second squad's captain.

"Ah! So I was right." The older woman smiled at her. _Why did I call her anyway?_ Yoruichi asked herself. "So, do you think you're ready for tomorrow?" She asked Soi instead, walking towards the girl a little more.

Soi seemed to think about this question for a moment, wondering how to answer her captain properly. "I'm not sure, Shihõin-taichou." She replied shyly.

"Why not?" the purple haired asked astonished. "I've seen you train for a certain while, and I would say you improved quite a lot." The woman laughed. _Oh shit.. Did I say too much just now?_

Soi Fon felt heat crawling up at the compliment the goddess made her, and dared to glance up for a slight moment when the woman laughed. Just now she noticed how close the captain stood to her. She could smell the sweet scent from the woman's skin, making her knees feel weak. It smelled like a fresh breeze, as if the woman spent most of her time outside the house. It also contained the smell of summer; with the little flowers and grassy surface. The smile on the woman's face made the heat which had gathered together inside her, crawl up faster and with more force. It wasn't a smile to make fun of her, no it was a smile of encouragement. Telling her to be brave and more self-confident about her skills. The eyes of her captain seemed to be filled with joy, and shimmered like two small golden suns.

"A-a-aritgatou.. Taichou-sama.." Soi Fon stammered, blushing furiously.

"Eh?" Yoruichi squeeled teasingly. "Who told you to call me 'sama'?" She raised her eyebrows and grinned wide at the girl. "I thought I told all of you from the beginning to call me captain, right?"

"G-gomen nasai!" Soi Fon spoke quickly. And bowed down her head fast in embarrassment.

"Nah, don't worry." Yoruichi smiled, and lay a hand on Soi's small shoulder. "Just call me captain, or, in this case if there's nobody around, Yoruichi is just fine."

"But, Taichou! I could never do that. It's a disgrace to your nobility." The girl replied, barely aware of the fact a soft dark slender hand lay on her shoulder.

"Soi Fon." The captain spoke. "It's ok, look at me."

A little hesitating Soi raised her head, and looked at the woman's smiling face. Her eyes stood kind now, and her smile encouraging.

"Good luck tomorrow, I'm looking forward to see how your training improved your skills. You were definitely one of the better shinigami's who took this training seriously. I'd be honoured if someone like you could be my lieutenant."

Soi Fon felt like fainting. Those words couldn't be meant for her. And now she noticed the captain gave her a little squeeze in her shoulder. Had that hand been there already?

"Just don't overwork yourself ok? You should also rest properly once in a while. I'd say go to bed early tonight, and I'll see you tomorrow at training ground Hachi."

"Hai.. Taichou.." Was all what Soi Fon could whisper. Her throat felt sore, and breathing had become a hard task. Her heart seemed to burst with some suspicious weird feeling Soi had never experienced before and her head felt dizzy. She had lowered her head to not have to look at those two kind eyes, which only made the feeling inside her worse.

"I'll see you tomorrow then." The captain suddenly spoke, after what seemed an eternity. "Don't be late. I wouldn't want you to lose any of your points, Soi Fon."

The woman didn't wait for a reply, but stepped aside to pass Soi Fon. While walking away, she let her hand gently slide off the small shoulder, causing a shiver going through the girl's spine. Smiling victoriously to herself, Yoruichi finally shunpoed away, leaving the other girl behind.


	10. Ready? Fight!

_A/N: I want to thank everyone who has reviewed and added this story to their favourites!  
THANK YOU!_

_This is my first fanfiction ever, I never imagined I would actually reach the 10th chapter, so I'm honored that many people seem to like it! :D _

_Ok, I'll stop being emotional, go read now! ;P_

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_Chapter 10  
__Ready? Fight!  
_

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Soi Fon yawned as she watched in annoyance how two male members of her squad were fighting each other, desperately trying to catch the attention of Yoruichi, who was sitting at the sideline, and trying to impress her.

Soi's night had been long, since she had had the biggest trouble falling asleep. She had kept tossing and turning under her blankets, repeating the events of what had happened that afternoon again and again in her mind, like a broken record. The complimenting words, the dazzling eyes, the soft laughter, the slender hand laying on Soi's shoulder, it had all burned into her memories and she just couldn't seem to let go of the images and warm feelings which these seem to give her. In the morning, it had been hard for the girl to get up due to the lack of sleep, but as soon as she had gotten out of bed, a certain vibe had possessed her. Today was the day.

Quickly Soi put on her shinigami robe, consumed her food, and hurried up towards training ground Hachi. There, Yoruichi had already been waiting for her, along with some other members which had been early, to Soi's utter surprise. When Yoruichi saw Soi Fon had arrived, she gave the girl a smile and wink, encouraging her to come closer. Soi blushed for an unknown reason, and joined the others.

Shorty after Soi's arrival, the remaining shinigami arrived quickly, not daring to be late and get a decreasing of points, and Yoruichi began explaining the last rules. She ordered all of them to hand over their katana because, to everybody's slight annoyance, the match would be held with wooden swords to make sure nobody would get badly injured. The captain made several groups, and numbered them to set up the order of rank. Then she had commanded them to run several rounds for a warm up.

With only little motivation, the shinigami started to jog around the training field in a gentle trot. They had started fast, but quickly slowed down to have a little chat with each other since it was only a warm up and the real match hadn't started yet.  
Yoruichi watched from the sideline, and shook her head at the disappointing sight.

"Come on!" She yelled. "It's that all you've got?" And ran towards the group, to end up next to Soi, who was (of course) running up front. She didn't know why, but she just felt very attracted to the girl as she smirked at her and nodded her head forwards to make clear they would do a little sprint.

Soi Fon nodded, a slight blush appearing on her face as she waited for a sign from her captain to take off. Her heart started to pound fast, as adrenaline found its way into her body. She saw the captain look at her for a second time, her topaz eyes questioning. The smaller girl nodded again, and Yoruichi smiled. Both girls turned forwards as they set off in an extreme sprint, leaving the rest of the group behind.

Yoruichi looked at her side, trying to measure how much she'd have to hold back for Soi to keep up. To her surprise, the girl didn't seem to be in any trouble to keep up yet, and Yoruichi started to run a little faster, still keeping an eye on her companion.

Soi Fon noticed the change in speed, and sped up to keep up with her captain.

The rest of the group had stopped running when they had seen the two girls take off in such speed, and watched as Yoruichi tested Soi Fon's abilities. They didn't know much about the small girl, so when they saw her running like this, it was something totally new. By now the two females had reached the other side of the field, and turned around to sprint back to the group.

Yoruichi was satisfied. Soi Fon was really quick, and the girl hadn't even achieved shunpo yet, so the speed would only increase if Yoruichi taught the technique to the girl. Now she somehow felt the urge to show the girl her own speed, to impress her, and set off in a (to her) slow shunpo. In a few seconds she had reached the group. Not out of breath at all, she grinned victoriously and waited for Soi who arrived only seconds later.

"Now that.." Yoruichi spoke towards the group as she laid her hand on Soi's shoulder. "Is a warm up."

The group gazed up at the woman in silence. One moment ago she'd been at the other side of the field, and then next she had stood in front of them as if nothing had happened.

Soi Fon stood next to the captain, also looking up at the purple haired goddess of Flash. Then she remembered the hand on her shoulder, and started to feel something weird in the pit of her stomach. It tickled.

"Now it's your turn." The older woman remembered the group. "Two rounds extra. And even more for the ones who still like to think it's not necessary to have a good warm up." Her voice sounded stern and her eyes stood serious.

Soi Fon turned around to join the rest of the group which had already set off in a jog, ready to follow the orders given and complete the two rounds she still had to run.

"Hola" Yoruichi's voice sounded, as she tightened her grip on the girl's shoulder, pulling her back harshly. "Where do you think you're going?"

Soi Fon hadn't seen this one coming, and tumbled backwards at the force which pulled back her shoulder. She lost her balance, and felt her body curve to ground. Just before she thought she would hit the bottom, she felt an arm wrap around her waist to keep her from falling and pulling her up straight.

"You okay?" Two worried topaz eyes stared down at her, seeming to burn their way in through her own grey ones.

Soi Fon felt heat crawling up to her cheeks as she realized Yoruichi had caught her before she was able to hit the ground, and that she was now standing up straight with the woman's warm hand still on her waist.

"I-I-I-I guess s-s-so." Soi managed to stutter, while she looked up at Yoruichi's hypnotizing eyes. "T-t-thank y-you, S-Shihouin-taichou." The heat had now reached her cheeks, and coloured them an unmistakable shade of red.

"No need to thank me." Yoruichi replied, feeling slightly shy when she saw the younger girl blushing heavily. "I pulled you back in the first place." She flashed a toothy smile to hide her own awkward feelings, and released the girl from her touch, realizing weirdly that she hadn't done so earlier.

"I-I-I'd better finish those two rounds." The younger girl muttered, as she turned around again.

"No!" Yoruichi corrected her, and lay down a hand on the girl's shoulder to stop her. When she noticed she repeated the previous action again, she quickly withdrew her hand. "You've exhausted yourself enough already with that sprint I made you do, so you'd better keep it down until the fights."

The other girl looked at her in silence, but then nodded shyly. "Hai, Shihouin-taichou."

As Soi Fon and Yoruichi waited for the group to finish their rounds, they held a little chat. Well, mostly it was Yoruichi who asked the questions, and Soi Fon who tried to answer them as good as possible so she wouldn't make a fool out of herself.

"So, has there ever been a match like this around here?" Yoruichi asked the girl, deciding she just wanted to talk with Soi, to make the connection between her in human form as good as her connection with the girl in cat form.

"Not really." Soi answered the woman with a little shrug, turning her head to look in those dazzling eyes. "Well, I mean.." She began, when she saw Yoruichi looking at her intensively, waiting for her to continue. "There have been some competitions around here, but most were just because we had to. The previous Taichou thought it was good for us to fight each other once in a while, so that we could learn from each other." Soi explained, quickly averting her silver gaze from the woman when she realized she had stopped looking at her captain, and begun staring at her beautiful eyes.

"Oh.. yeah well your captain was right. Fighting with your companions can be a good way to train." Yoruichi answered casually, pretending to not have noticed the weird look on the other girl's face. "I used to fight a friend of mine as well. We always learned a lot from each other's moves and techniques." A short silence followed while Yoruichi thought back about the past, when she had trained together with Urahara Kisuke in their secret training spot. "He was never able to beat me though." She added with a smirk, smiling down proudly at the girl standing beside her.

_Why do I want her to look up to me this much?_ Yoruichi questioned herself. Not able to come up with an answer to herself, she quickly asked the girl another question. "Actually, do you know what happened to the previous captain?"

The black haired girl looked up at Yoruichi when she heard her voice. "Ehh.. No I'm sorry, nobody knows." she replied, while she turned her head back to look at the group of still running shinigami. "He just disappeared all of a sudden, together with his lieutenant." Her eyes darkened a bit when she mentioned her old captain. She had really liked him. He had been a strict, well talented captain and he had even been able to come a little closer to Soi Fon, even though she always tried to keep some distance between them.

"Are you okay?"

Soi Fon snapped out of her memories and glanced up at her captain when she heard the female speak. When she looked up and her eyes locked with Yoruichi's, she realized she didn't mind it _that_ much her previous captain had left off. Yoruichi, Yoruichi was much better. When she finished this thought, she caught herself staring at the other woman. "Eh.." She begun, blinking her eyes rapidly while trying to remember what Yoruichi had asked her. Her answer got spared when the group of shinigami returned from their rounds, breathing heavily and bending over to catch their breaths.

"Ah! Finally! I started to think you all drowned somewhere!" Yoruichi joked, when she turned around to face the rest of the group. "So.. all warmed up I see? Let's take a twenty-minutes rest then and after that we'll start with the first round."

The shinigami sighed grateful, thankful that they were allowed to rest a little while before starting the first rounds. "Hai, Taichou."

"Oh, yeah. Don't forget your number" Yoruichi added before walking away. "I'm not going to rank all of you again. No number, no fight."

_--_

After a short rest, Yoruichi had called all members together. The first round had started fast, and the squad had surrounded the two fighters in a wide circle to see the match clearly. Yoruichi instead had taken place on a big wooden chair, which had been placed at the side earlier. With her legs folded up, she watched the two members in front of her fight. Showing their skills to the captain, they tried to hit each other on a critical place with the wooden sticks, to settle the match. The sound of the wooden sticks hitting one another sounded hard over the training ground. Eventually, one of the fighters nailed the other down, and the match was settled.

This routine continued for a while and Soi Fon watched her squad members as she was waiting for her turn. If she'd be able to win, she'd have to fight a second round. And depending on how many people would get eliminated, she'd have to fight another one.

After some matches, two male members from her squad were ought to fight each other. Both males were enormous show-offs, and Soi Fon really disliked them. While they were fighting, they kept throwing glances at Yoruichi, who was silently watching from the sideline. Both men tried to impress her with the strangest moves and strikes. Yoruichi instead seemed a bit bored by this performance, and dropped her head on her hands to support it. Once in a while she glanced at Soi Fon, who was silently preparing herself to fight. She was really looking forward to see the raven haired girl kick all of the other member's asses.

A scream from one of the males on the field caught back her attention, and she averted her gaze from the female she had been staring at. It seemed that one of the males had finally managed to hit the other on a critical spot, and was now grinned at Yoruichi victoriously, waiting for her to comment.

"Ah! Good job Katusuo." She managed to say. "You're very skilled. Now let's move on, who's next? Number eight!"

To Yoruichi's utter pleasure, Soi Fon stood up and walked forward to face her enemy. Immediately she sat up straight in her chair, eager to see how Soi Fon would take care of her opponent. "Yush!" she shouted happily. "Are you both set?"

Soi Fon shifted her gaze from her opponent to Yoruichi, to lock their eyes together. Yoruichi winked, and seemed to whisper something. After a moment, Soi realized the woman had just wished her good luck, and she nodded almost unnoticeable towards her captain, a blush slightly appearing on her cheeks.

"Then let the fight begin!" The captain called from her chair.

After Yoruichi had announced the beginning of the fight, Soi Fon eyed her opponent carefully. She knew the boy on opposite of her would be the first one to attack, she could tell so by his movements. His feet paced backwards a bit and his body was leaning forward so that he stood in an attacking pose. She looked the boy straight in his blue eyes, and saw them narrow when he was about to pull out towards her. And indeed, the boy lifted his sword.  
Soi's reflexes were fast, since she'd been able to read his intentions, and she blocked the attack with ease. The male didn't seem very surprised and pulled out another time. Soi dodged the wooden stick as it came flying towards her, aiming for her chest. She stepped to the side and tried to hit the boy instead. His eyes sparkled devilish when he managed to dodge her assault and he screamed as he aimed another attack, this time targeting her head.  
Soi Fon felt the air move as the stick came nearer rapidly. She caught the blow with the end of her stick, and turned around on her toes as she tried to hit the boy with the other end. The male managed to step aside, so the stick wouldn't hit his chest, but it hit his shoulder hard instead. He stepped backward as his face showed how much the wooden stick had hurt him. Soi took advantage of this situation, and quickly paced forward to hit the boy on his chest. Her opponent saw her coming, and his eyes widened when he realized her speed. He tried to move away, but was too slow and a dull sound of wood colliding with fabrics sounded as a wooden stick hit him on the chest.


	11. Taken a blow

_A/N: A short chapter to make some fans happy (:  
And also because school will start tomorrow, and I'll have like **no** time to write TT__TT_

I actually didn't want to continue writing just a boring fight, so I came up with a sort of filler :D  
Hope you like it though!

xx

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_Chapter 11  
__Taken a blow.  
_

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Yoruichi squealed, hopping up and down on her chair as Soi Fon hit her opponent's chest, which counted as a critical area. Several members turned their heads towards her, surprised by the sudden sound escaping from their captain's lips. "Awesome!" the captain clapped, grinning widely. "Your skills are just great Soi Fon, great job!"

Soi Fon blushed at the compliment the goddess made her from the sidelines, and stepped back to bow towards her opponent, which looked at her with fire in his blue eyes. Yoruichi hadn't said anything about him and his skills, and that stupid ice queen had managed to beat him. He just couldn't believe it. All she ever did was staring into space. She never smiled, and only nodded as answer, shrugged if she didn't care about something, and never made contact with other people. Angriness rose up inside his body, and before his brain could catch up with his movements, he rose his stick in the air and let it collide with Soi Fon's shoulder harshly. This attack only made adrenaline rush into his body, and before he knew it he rose up the stick again to land a second hit on the girl which bowed in front of him.

Soi Fon felt a great force crash rudely into her shoulder. Making a shiver of pain shoot through her right shoulder and back as she looked up to see the cause of it. When she saw the boy she had defeated during the match standing up straight, and holding his stick up in the air for another attack, targeting her, she knew there was trouble. In slow motion she saw his eyes narrow, his muscles tense, and the wooden object coming closer. But before the stick even managed to hit her a second time, Yoruichi flashed right in front of her, gripping the stick with her hand to stop it from moving.

A painful silence followed as Yoruichi stood between the two members, her topaz eyes burning with fury, as she looked down on the boy in front of her. She tightened her grip on the stick, and broke it with a single movement of her hand. Splinters scattered everywhere as Yoruichi threw away the piece of stick she was holding. The boy's eyes grew large when he realized his captain had just broken his weapon with a single move, and realized what he had done to deserve this. Immediately he fell down on his knees, bowing in an apology towards the noble woman.

"I'm sorry, Shihouin-taicho" He whispered, repeating the sentence several times over.

Yoruichi ignored him, and turned around to check up on Soi Fon. The fury in her eyes settling down and making place for concern. "Are you okay?" She asked, as she lay her hand on Soi Fon's upper arm. She could see the girl was hurt and slowly moved her hand to shove the shinigami top to the side, revealing the girl's bare shoulder to herself, where a bruise was beginning to get visible. "Does it hurt badly?"

Soi felt herself tense, as small slender fingers stroked her bare skin carefully, gently, almost…loving. "N-not really, taichou." She managed to choke out in denial, while her whole shoulder started to tingle and tickle while at the same time it hurt.

_Her skin.. So soft..no, wait! _Yoruichi withdrew her hand when she noticed what she'd been doing, avoiding the silver eyes from the girl at any cost. "Let's get some ice on it." She muttered, as she took Soi by her arm and drew her away from the group. "We're having a break!" she yelled towards the group, before shunpoeing away, dragging the petite girl with her.

--

In a flash Soi felt the training ground sweep away underneath her feet, only to arrive at the second squad's office a moment later. Dizzy from the sudden change of area, she paced back a few feet. Yoruichi tightened her grip on the girl's arm to stop her from falling.

"Sorry, I should've said I was going to shunpo you away." She said, while a grin appeared on her face at the sight of the flustered girl. "Now where did I leave that ice pack." She continued muttering, while she finally released her hold on the girl.

Soi Fon looked around in the office. She'd only been here once, when the previous captain had asked her for a favour, and the office had changed quite a bit since. The desk had been moved, the walls had been painted (ever since the coffee accident they had to paint the walls all over), and there was a stuffed animal standing on the bookshelf.  
Soi looked around the office to notice Yoruichi had walked off somewhere else, trying to find an ice package for her shoulder, and paced towards the bookshelf to take the animal off. When she took the animal from the shelf to reveal its true form was a cat, a blue notebook dropped down at her feet.

"Eh? What's this?" The girl muttered while she stocked the stuffed animal under her arm and reached over to pick up the blue object. She opened the little notebook and found a few scribbles covering the pages.

_**Can you believe it? Even gave the cat a name.**_

Soi Fon felt herself tense. Could it be…Cho? She turned around the page, only to find more scribbles written down fastly in a sloppy handwriting.

_**She has this amazing training spot in the forest. I've been there a couple of times now, I can't tell anyone I've been there, specially not her. God I'd be dead if she finds out.**_

Followed by.

_**I must say she's actually pretty cute, and once I get to know her better I think she'll be a great lieutenant. And cute too..**_

_**Her house is amazing. I love the simpleness of it. So much different than the mansion..**_

"Soi Fon! I think I found one!"

Yoruichi's voice sounded from the hallway. Soi almost dropped the notebook in shock when she heard the voice of her captain, followed by footsteps coming nearer. Her heartbeat started to accelerate. She quickly tried to place the notebook back on the shelf, but tried it too fast and used her injured arm, causing a painful shiver to pierce through it, but she made it just in time to turn around and see Yoruichi enter with a blue package and towel in her hands.

"Oh." The goddess said, as she stopped in the doorway. "You found my kitty." A big grin found it's way on the woman's features.

Soi Fon looked down, noticing she was still holding the stuffed animal she had taken from the shelf. Inside she cursed herself. "Eh.. Yes."

"Don't you think it's cute?" Yoruichi asked, as she walked in further and placed the ice package on her desk. "It's my favourite." She said, while she walked towards the smaller girl. Yoruichi's eyes seemed to burn their way into Soi's as she looked her straight in the eye. "I love cats."

"Y-yeah me too." Soi Fon stuttered a blush covering her cheeks and her heart still beating furiously.

Yoruichi took the animal from Soi's hands, and dusted off some dust. She looked at the cat intently, before snickering and handing it back to Soi. "Let's put some ice on your shoulder now before it melts."

"O-okay." Soi answered, before she put the animal back where it belonged, trying to look at it intensively to see what had been so funny about it. When she couldn't find anything amusing, she sighed, placed the stuffed animal back on the shelf, and walked over to Yoruichi.

"Let's see." Yoruichi said, while she wrapped the ice package into the towel. "Why don't you sit?" She ordered, while she pushed Soi towards the desk. When the girl sat on the desk, Yoruichi pulled away the shinigami top for a second time, this time revealing a big blue purplish bruise. "Ouch. That doesn't look so good." The woman said in a disapproving tone, while a little smile made her lips curl.

Soi looked at her captain, feeling warm all over her body when Yoruichi's soft fingers ran over her bruise again. Her captain seemed to enjoy the nursing just a little too much. Not that Soi Fon really cared…

"It should get better now." Yoruichi stated, when she lay the ice package, covered in the towel, on the girl's shoulder. She had an inner conflict with herself. At one side she wanted to touch Soi Fon so badly, feel her soft skin more and more underneath her eager fingers, while the other side restricted her to keep her hands off of the petite girl, wondering what the hell was going on that made her feel like this. "Do you think you can still fight?" She asked the girl instead, trying to think about something else, something casual.

"I-I think so yes." The other girl stuttered, as she felt the cold from the ice crawl into her shoulder. "It's nothing serious, really."

"Oh. You're a though one." Yoruichi joked.

A silence followed where Yoruichi took care of Soi's shoulder, and Soi found herself thinking about what she had read in the notebook and the meaning of it.

_From who is that notebook? Is it Shihouin-taicho's? Then how is she able to know all this. What was written there… it looked like it was about me… me and Cho… but how does she know Cho? How does she know about my training spot? What did she mean when she said nobody could know she'd been there. Does it mean she spied on me? Yeah sure… or she WAS the cat… lol.. Like that would happen… "Hi I'm Yoruichi Shihouin, I'm a cat." Sure._

Soi snorted at her own thoughts, causing Yoruichi to look at her suspiciously, but the girl didn't notice as she continued ranting to herself.

_Way to go Soi, you're losing your mind. What did that stick hit, your head or your shoulder? … … I still don't get it… …_

"It should be better like this now." Yoruichi snapped Soi out of her ranting as she removed the ice package from her sore shoulder. "Unless you want a kissy on it"

A silence followed where Soi Fon stared at Yoruichi, tongue-tied, and Yoruichi realized what she had just said.

"….Eh…just joking.."


	12. All again for you

_A/N: Hey Guys!  
I know it's been a looooooooooooong time since my last upload (I believe it was in June or so??)  
And I'm terribly sorry for those who have waited so long for this update  
Recently I found some time to write (Thanks to a cuncussion :B) And I decided to create a new chapter._

_It was really hard for me though to write a new chapter, and I hope you guys will like it.  
I can't promise you anything about the quality, since it's been tiiiiime since I wrote, but I did my best, and that's all I can give you guys. 3_

_Please, tell me what you think when you finished reading. ^^  
I would really appreciate that!_

_xx Raz.  
_

_

* * *

_

_Chapter 12  
All again for you__._

* * *

**Previously in chapter 11.**

"**Let's see." Yoruichi said, while she wrapped the ice package into the towel. "Why don't you sit?" She ordered, while she pushed Soi towards the desk. When the girl sat on the desk, Yoruichi pulled away the shinigami top for a second time, this time revealing a big blue purplish bruise. "Ouch. That doesn't look so good." The woman said in a disapproving tone, while a little smile made her lips curl. **

**Soi looked at her captain, feeling warm all over her body when Yoruichi's soft fingers ran over her bruise again. Her captain seemed to enjoy the nursing just a little too much. Not that Soi Fon really cared…**

"**It should get better now" Yoruichi stated, when she ****laid the ice package, covered in the towel, on the girl's shoulder. She had an inner conflict with herself. At one side she wanted to touch Soi Fon so badly, feel her soft skin more and more underneath her eager fingers, while the other side restricted herself to touch the petite girl in ways other than nursing, wondering what the hell was going on that made her feel like this. "Do you think you can still fight?" She asked the girl instead, trying to think about something else, something casual.**

"**I-I think so yes." The other girl stuttered, as she felt the cold from the ice crawl into her shoulder. "It's nothing serious, really."**

"**Oh. You're a though one." Yoruichi joked.**

**A silence followed where Yoruichi took care of Soi's shoulder, and Soi found herself thinking about what she had read in the notebook and the meaning of it. **

_**From who is that notebook? Is it Shihouin-taicho's? Then how is she able to know all this. What were written there… it looked like it were about me… me and Cho… but how does she know Cho? How does she know about my training spot? What did she mean when she said nobody could know she'd been there. Does it mean she spied on me? Yeah sure… or she WAS the cat… lol.. Like that would happen… "Hi I'm Yoruichi Shihouin, I'm a cat." Sure.**_

**Soi snorted at her own thoughts, causing Yoruichi to look at her suspiciously, but the girl didn't notice as she continued ranting to herself.**

_**Way to go Soi, you're losing your mind. What did that stick hit, your head or your shoulder? … … I still don't get it… …**_

"**It should be better like this now." Yoruichi snapped Soi out of her ranting as she removed the ice package from her sore shoulder. "Unless you want a kissy on it" **

**A silence followed where Soi Fon stared at Yoruichi, tongue-tied, and Yoruichi realized what she had just said.**

"…**.Eh…just joking.."**

* * *

"Yeah.. No problem, don't mind it.." Soi Fon muttered, as a blush appeared on her face surprisingly fast. Covering her whole face into a shade of pink and red. "I-I-I didn't expect you to d-do that anyway.." She added quickly, stumbling and stuttering over her own words, making her face becoming redder and redder each second that passed by. "I mean! It's not that I would want that!!" Her hands flew up in a defensive shrug. "I mean, I'm just a squad member! I-I-I mean, I'm a gírl! A-A-And-"

"Enough, Soi Fon" One pair of strong hands gripped her wrists to stop her arms from spazzing around. "Don't forget to breathe." The purple haired goddess spoke quietly.

Soi Fon immediately shut herself up when she felt the touch of the older woman. _… Just what is wrong with me? _She questioned herself._ Breathe normally, you dumb bitch, just breathe! _

Pretty ashamed of her spazz, Soi Fon closed her eyes and began to concentrate on her lungs.

_Breathe in… breathe out… breathe in… breathe out… breathe in………Why does her touch has this effect on me? … Breathe out… Even now, when I can't even see her, I feel her fingers touching my skin, I feel her eyes burning into my soul, I smell her smell, it's even stronger when I close my eyes… breathe in…even more… breathe out… dazzling… breathe in… I think… breathe out… I think I… breathe in…I think I-I'm… _

Suddenly she stopped breathing, her insides turned and both eyes flew open in shock, when she realized what she had wanted to say.

"I'm falling?" She yelped hysterically. Scaring Yoruichi with yelling out of nowhere.

"Hey, hey!" the older woman spoke concerned. "Calm down!" She soothed the girl. "Falling from what? You're not falling? Look, you're still on the table.." Yoruichi placed her hands on the girl's shoulders and shook her back and forth to get some sense into her. "See? All normal"

"Ouch!" Soi moaned, and shrunk when the captain placed her hand on the bruise at her right shoulder with a bit of force.

"Oh! I'm so sorry! I didn't mean to hurt your shoulder even more!"

"Don't mind it.. I'm ok.." Soi Fon muttered.

"Are you sure?"

"One hundred percent."

"Really?"

"Really."

"One thousand percent?"

"One thousand percent."

"Then now do you want a kissy on it?"

"…"

A grin began to find its way on to the taller woman's features. Yoruichi's dazzling eyes were locked straight into Soi's, making her slightly become dizzy and unable to move. Slowly the older woman came closer to her, although, she didn't seem to be aiming for her sore shoulder but a very different place. The smaller girl could feel the warmth of the other body coming closer. The delicious smell that got even stronger as Yoruichi came nearer and made her feel like collapsing, right here, right now.  
She could feel the smell lingering in her nose, Yoruichi's breath on her face. Softly two hands were placed on her lap to support the other the captain's weight, their faces were only inches apart. The older woman's eyelids slid lower, making her eyes give away a dreamy look, which made the golden orbs shine even fiercer and thus wonderful. It was getting hard for the smaller girl to breathe, as seconds slowly passed by and Yoruichi's lips almost touched hers. Yoruichi was so close to her, so close that she could see every detail of her beautiful face, her lips almost colliding with hers…

"Knock, Knock, Knock"

Almost.

Both woman gasped for breath in shock, and immediately pulled away from each other as they heard the knocks on the door.

"Hello? Shihouin-taicho?" Spoke the soft voice of the 4th division's captain, as she slid open the door. "Are you there?"

Captain Unohana, captain of the 4th squad in the Seireitei, entered the room. What she found there was a bewildered Yoruichi and flustered small girl, whose cheeks were burning red from blushing. "Am I disturbing something?" She asked innocently, keeping her eyes locked on the squad member, which obviously tried to avoid any sort of eye contact with the older captain.

"N-no, Unohana-taicho, of course not. We were just.. erhhh.. just about to contact you." Yoruichi managed to speak out, while she threw a glance to her left to make sure Soi hadn't collapsed on the ground of shock.

"Ahh.. That's a shame, I've already been informed about what happened. I was just wondering what took you so long to come to my quarters." Captain Unohana spoke on a don't-mess-with-me tone. "You must know that if anything happens to a squad member, the first priority is to go to the 4th squad to let us analyze the patient…"

"Oh, yeah, of course Unohana-taicho, I forgot." Yoruichi apologized, still keeping an eye on the petite girl next to her. "I just thought it wouldn't be necessary to come to the 4th squad since it didn't look like a life threatening wound. But if you say the 4th squad's division has to be the first to judge a patient, I'll keep that in mind for next time."

"… Alright Shihouin-taicho, your apologies have been accepted, but remember it correctly for next time. Now please, if you could follow me."

The older captain turned her back towards the two girls and walked out of the room, leaving a relieved Yoruichi and a still flustered Soi Fon behind. Yoruichi turned around.

"Are you alright?" She asked the smaller girl, as she bent lower to look the girl in the eye.

Soi Fon nodded, not answering the eye contact of her captain in any way, trying to grasp her mind together of what almost had happened before the other captain had barged in.

"Ya.. I'm fine.." She answered.

"Okay, then let's go." Yoruichi spoke. "I bet Unohana is waiting for us at the end of the hallway."

"Hai, taicho."

As they walked towards the 4th division's captain, Soi's thoughts began to occupy her attention once again.

_Fine? Ya sure, of course I'm fine. More like: F ucked up, I nsecure, N eurotic, E motional-fine. OF COURSE I'M NOT FINE YOU, YOU… __AARHG. You almost KISSED me, baka! Then how can you ask if I'm FINE? You, you with your wonderful dreamy eyes, your seducing scent and stunning feature. You, almost..kissed..me... KISSED ME?! In the middle of the office!! What if Unohana-taicho had seen us! Had seen you, kissing a squad member! A girl! What would've become out of that?_

In the meantime the three women had arrived at the 4th squad's quarters with some help of Yoruichi's shunpo.

"Please, sit down, Soi Fon, was it?" Unohana spoke, as she nodded her head towards a chair in the middle of the chamber.

"Hai, Unohana-taicho." Soi obeyed, as she took place on the chair.

Yoruichi had walked into the room and now stood with her back towards the wall, leaning back nonchalantly. It had been true that she had thought the wound hadn't been life threatening enough to go to the 4th squad, but there was also another reason why she hadn't had escorted Soi towards the healing squad immediately. She had wanted to be alone with her for a moment. Just alone with her, without all the other squad members surrounding them, babbling about nonsense and trying to distract her. Hearing Soi Fon talk to her alone, and her only. Though she hadn't planned what had been about to happen, and thinking back about it made her feel kind of guilty. Soi had almost collapsed when they were so close. Yoruichi chuckled as she remembered the look in the smaller girl's eyes as she got overwhelmed by Yoruichi's charms. Well, at least she hadn't refused her!.. so far.. Who knows what would have happened if Unohana hadn't barged in like an ogre, scaring the shit out of them. Yoruichi made a face. Damn, if only Unohana hadn't barged in…

"Are you alright, Shihouin-taicho?" Captain Unohana asked with a sugar-sweet voice. "Is there something on your mind?"

"No I'm perfectly fine." Yoruichi smiled. _But I would have been better if a certain ogre wouldn't have terrorized my office!_

"Really? You looked troubled.." the 4th division's captain spoke.

"Naah, I'm fine really." Yoruichi stated, starting to get a bit annoyed by the giant. She nodded towards Soi. "Better worry about her." She said. "Will she be able to continue the match?"

"Mmm.." Unohana-taicho groused. "Well, she will be fine. If I will use some of my kidou she will be back to normal in ten minutes."

"Oh!" Yoruichi smiled and left her place at the wall to walk towards Soi. "That's very nice. Then you can kick another shinigami's butt!"

Soi Fon looked at her blankly. How could that.. that.. woman act like nothing had happened at all? Even though she nodded. She would kick that shinigami's ass, no matter what, all to reach her goal of becoming the lieutenant of the woman who was standing in front of her. She would defeat everybody, she would fight again. All again for you.


	13. Healed bruises

_Chapter 13_  
_Healed bruises_

Unohana was quick. She was able to use kidou rapidly and in no-time Soi's shoulder was fixed as if nothing had happened in the first place. The bruise was barely noticeable and it didn't hurt anymore. Why Yoruichi had wanted to cool it with an ice package? Soi Fon had no clue. Going to Unohana was ten times faster. Only ten? Maybe even a million times faster. Yoruichi herself was still standing at the side of the room, continuing to lean nonchalantly against the wall. She had a skeptical look on her face though she appeared to be a bit nervous. Even though Soi wasn't sure if she saw that right.

"Well." Unohana-taicho spoke. "I think she's all right again, so you two can go back to the training grounds and finish your contest." She glared at Yoruichi. "Just be careful and come here immediately if something like this happens again. I can fix your members up in a minute and it won't take long before they'd be able to go back to continue their fights."

Yoruichi nodded. "Yeah, I will. Thanks Unohana-taicho." She smiled a fake smile. She didn't like Unohana-taicho that much. Not because of the warnings she was giving and made her clear she'd done something wrong, but Unohana-taicho made her feel exposed. She felt like the older woman could see right through her. Yoruichi hoped the other taicho hadn't figured out why she didn't want to bring Soi to the 4th squad's quarters. She wasn't even quite sure of that herself in the first place. It had just seemed logical at the time to take care of Soi Fon herself.

She turned around and walked up to Soi. "So." She started. "Ya ready to get back to the battlefield?" Her golden eyes sparkled with excitement and a grin made its way to her face.

"Ehmm.. Y-yes I guess.." Soi chuckled as she gave Yoruichi a slight smile back. The two women were looking each other in the eye for a moment, smiling as they did so. Yoruichi nodded to her. "Then what are we waiting for?" She said. "Let's go!" She took Soi Fon by the arm and nodded a 'goodbye' to Unohana. Unohana nodded back and Yoruichi shunpoed back to the training grounds.

The shinigami squad members had been waiting for them to return, even though they had been gone over 20 minutes. They were sitting on the ground in little groups and got on their feet once Yoruichi and Soi arrived. They threw suspicious glares at Soi Fon, whom seemed to be just fine again. Soi chuckled uncomfortable under all the glares that were thrown her way.

Yoruichi excused herself for the time they'd been gone, saving Soi Fon from all the heavy glares as everyone turned their eyes on their taicho. Their captain smiled a charming smile to her squad members, which as soon as they saw her face, seemed to forgive her easily. Soi could swear she could see little hearts in their eyes as her teammates gazed up at the wonderful woman in front of them. She muffled a laugh and looked away from the sight, trying her best not to drool over Yoruichi like the bunch of idiots in front of her.

"So, are we ready to continue this contest?" Yoruichi asked the group in front of her.

"Hai! Yoruichi-sama!" They yelled as one.

"Ara, ara?" Yoruichi chuckled, putting her index finger on her chin as she did so. "I thought I had said something to all of you about formalities." She said, glaring down on the group seriously. She looked as if she wanted them to correct themselves, but then she shrugged and strode away to where her soft, comfy chair was waiting for her, leaving the flustered group behind.

"Right.." Soi muttered, while following Yoruichi and the other shinigami's back to the battlefield. Yoruichi had taken place again in her comfortable chair and was circling with a strand of her hair around her finger. She seemed to be in thoughts, but as soon as everyone had arrived she snapped out of it and lifted her head with a grin.

"So. Let's do this! Whom was next after the battle between Soi Fon and Takeda? Numberr.. nine I though? Kyuu?"

"Me!" A red haired girl shouted and moved over to the battle area with a confident smile plastered on her face.

"Me too" another girl with brown hair in a ponytail calmly said and took the place on the opposite of the redhead.

The two girls looked at each other, their genuine smiles disappearing as they became serious and saw who their opponent was. The girls had a long history of not really being the best friends around the Seireitei.

"You'll lose" the redhead huffed at the brown haired girl, confidence dripping from her face and attitude. Her grin widened as the other girl just kept staring at her.

"I don't think so." Her rival finally concluded with a steady voice, as she smiled a polite smile at the redhead, though her eyes told a different story as they glared at her opponent.

The glare made the redhead's expression drop for a moment, but she quickly caught herself. "Even giving it your best won't be good enough." She sneered. "I will never let you become Yoruichi-sama's fuko-taicho." The words cut through the air and seemed incredibly painful for the other girl, but she didn't even flinch.

"We'll see." The brown haired woman replied instead in a calm tone, while she glanced over to Yoruichi whom was following the chatter between them with a raised eyebrow and a look in her eyes which showed her confusion and annoyance. It was clear the two girls couldn't stand each other so she decided to quickly start the match to be over with it.

"You two done chatting?" The captain asked with a voice that didn't expect any answer. "Good then you two can start now." She flicked her wrist to the two girls to strengthen her words.

As soon as the words left Yoruichi's mouth, the two girls locked eyes and immediately dashed forwards. The battle was fierce and longer than the previous battles. Both girls became frustrated because of this and started to become less accurate, making the battle to be purely based on strength. Eventually the brown haired girl won as the redhead made a wrong move which gave her opponent an opportunity to hit the stick on her chest.

"Seems I'm closer to be Yoruichi-sama's fuko-taichou than you will ever be." She smiled. She withdrew the wooden stick and dropped it on the ground next to her. "I win." She simply stated.

The redhead just simply glared at her rival. "Tsk." She fumed. As she turned around and disappeared from the battle area.

"Mitsuki wins." Yoruichi stated. And gave a nod to said person. "Good job"

"Arigatou, Yoruichi-sama" Mitsuki said as she bowed.

"So.." Yoruichi sighed. "NEXT!"

Like this a couple of battles were held until there were only a few people left. Soi had fought a second round which she won again. There were only a small amount of opponents left, which decreased quickly. The final battle came closer.

Yoruichi seemed to get horribly bored by all the battles and sometimes she even appeared to take a nap in her comfortable, soft chair, with her chin resting on her hand and her golden eyes closed. People could swear they heard her purr deep in her throat sometime. But they dismissed the subject as it was impossible for a human to really purr. Even though she seemed to be asleep, as soon as she knew there was a winner her eyes shot open and she told whom the winner was. It was a mystery to all of them how she managed to do so, but they decided it was better not to ask and just continue with the matches to not hold everything up. Though the closer they came to the final round, the more enthusiastic and thus less sleepy their captain seemed to get.

Soi Fon watched the battles from a little distance, observing every opponent. Some seemed to be very confident and calm while others were very fierce or not so sure of themselves. She noted their fighting styles in her head for if she'd have to fight against one of them in the final. Though on the outside she appeared uninterested. Once in a while her eyes fluttered to Yoruichi unconsciously. Sometimes Yoruichi glanced back and flashed a warming smile to her. Making Soi Fon blush and look away quickly as if she hadn't noticed. This reaction made Yoruichi grin widely as it continued to happen a few times more.

At the sight of Soi Fon's cute denial, Yoruichi's mind wandered back to a while ago when she and Soi had been in the captain's office. She remembered Soi Fon's silky white skin under her fingers as she had caressed the bruise. Causing a shiver to go through her spine right now as she thought about it. Soi Fon had looked so beautiful that she had just had the urge to kiss the girl. She actually almost did if it hadn't been for Unohana to knock on the door, she sniggered. She remembered the look in the younger girl's eyes as she had gotten nearer. Her grey orbs had widened as she realized where Yoruichi had been aiming at, but the petite girl hadn't pushed her away. She had put her hands on the smaller girl's lap in order to support herself and also those hadn't been pushed away by the other girl. All these things had made Yoruichi continue on, even though she knew she had startled the girl a bit. She had just been eager to kiss those other lips so bad, to make those lips lock with hers for one small moment, that it made her wonder now what the hell was wrong with her. Actually she hadn't thought about it at the moment it happened. But now that she was thinking back it made her confused. Why had she intended to kiss Soi Fon? Why had she teased the girl so bad in the first place? The second question was easy for her to answer. She just loved to see the introvert girl blush, it made her look cute. The first question though, seemed to be the problem. For a moment her mind slipped to another thought. But she dismissed it quickly as she saw the battle that had been held had ended.

"Good! Congratulations Kuniko!" Yoruichi exclaimed. While straitening herself more up in her chair. "I guess this was the last round before the final!" She pointed out while a monstrous grin crept upon her face. She tried to forget where her mind had been wondering off to before. "Kuniko and Soi Fon, you two will be facing each other in this final battle." She smiled warm at both of them. "Please rest for a day so you two will be at full strength tomorrow."

"Hai, taichou!" Both of the girls said.


	14. Sitting, waiting, wishing

_Chapter 14  
Sitting, waiting, wishing. _

Slamming the door open Soi walked into her place. She put her sword aside and went to the living room to drop dead on a pillow which was lying on the wooden floor. She sighed while looking at the faint colour of the ceiling. It had been a very exhausting day and now she'd even have to go through another match tomorrow. She had thought it would have been over in one day. She had hoped that today would be the day of the final, but instead Yoruichi had send her and Kuniko home to rest and come back tomorrow at full strength. She sighed again. She just hoped everything would go as she hoped and she'd be able to win and stand next to that beautiful woman. It'd be a real accomplishment for her and-

Wait. Did she just think "beautiful woman"? Soi pondered, her heart pounding fast as she realized her thoughts. That can't be-

As she was mulling over this fact she shot up as something rubbed her leg. Something hairy and ... black.

"Cho!" Soi Fon yelped in surprise, pulling her legs up as reaction.

"Mew!" The cat climbed onto the pillow and jumped on her lap.

"Hey Cho, I haven't seen you for a while." Soi said in an affectionate tone as she petted the animal on her lap. "How did you get in?"

"Mew!"

Soi felt a shiver go down her spine as a gust of wind flew by and caressed her neck. She looked up only to see her window opened and her curtains swirling in a breeze.

"You know.." Soi mumbled. "You never fail to surprise me."

"Mew!" Cho purred while attempting to make herself comfortable in the shinigami's lap.

"Not so fast!" Soi exclaimed.

"Mew?"

"I first have to close the window. Before you'll occupy your seat and I won't be able to move for the next couple of hours."

"..."

Soi got on her feet while picking up Cho, not aware she was picking up her captain. She held the cat tight on her chest and went to close the window with her free hand. Cho didn't seem to mind, as she put her chin on Soi's shoulder and closed her golden eyes.

_Mmmm.. _Yoruichi purred. _She smells so good.._

Yoruichi slightly dug her nails into the shinigami's cloth to enjoy the moment to the fullest. Soi's hands felt so good on her back, holding here like something very vulnerable. It was a firm, yet gentle touch and it made Yoruichi thank the gods for being able to transform into a cat and to be touched by her favourite subordinate.

Soi Fon walked back to her pillow and sat down again, moving the cat from her hold to her lap. "You know what, Cho?" She started. "Today was a very interesting day." A little smile found its way to the girl's lips. "Remember that I told you about that match a while ago?" She looked down at the animal to see if it was listening. When her eyes locked with Cho's golden orbs, she knew the hairy curled up ball on her lap was paying attention.

"Well.." she continued. "It was today." She smiled another smile at the simple fact. "And you know? I even made it to the final!" Her smile now turned into a toothy grin.

Yoruichi felt like she was shot with an arrow of cupid as she saw that foolish smirk on Soi Fon's face. It was so innocent, so true. Her nails unconsciously knead as she enjoyed the expression to the utmost and purred loudly.

"Yeah pretty amazing, ne?" Soi chuckled at the expression her hairy friend was giving her. Then she continued in a whisper: "I never thought I'd be able to get that far."

The captain looked up at the girl to see if she was serious. She was. Did she really think she wouldn't be good enough? What nonsense. Sure, the others were also good, but Yoruichi no doubts about Soi winning, it just couldn't be that the girl whose lap she was using wouldn't be able to make it through the final. She smiled at the thought of Soi's victory. Scrap that second contest, I want Soi to win and not give her another chance to lose.

The rest of the day went by in a blur and soon it was time to go to sleep. Soi had rested a lot and regained a bit of her energy.

"Cho. I'll take a shower before going to bed ok?" the girl said, as she dropped the cat on the floor and went to collect her stuff and proceed to the shower. The cat followed Soi, who took a towel from the linen closet. Soi Fon then stepped into the bathroom, but Yoruichi hesitatingly waited outside.

_S-s-s-s-shower? _Yoruichi thought, her tail swirling in a rapid speed as her thoughts went were her mind didn't want to go. _She's going to s-shower? Naked? _As soon as she heard herself she began to laugh at her own thinking. Of course Soi Fon would shower naked.. But.. Just the thought of seeing Soi´s body naked made a fire rush through Yoruichi´s veins. What if she just.. peeked a little? It wouldn't harm a soul.. Well, only Soi Fon's if she ever found out..

Yoruichi began to pace up and down the hallway, pondering whether or not to enter the bathroom where Soi was showering at this moment. But, if she wouldn't find out? Would Yoruichi be able to bear that secret with her? Sneak peeking around on her squad members, even.. female squad members...? What if someone did find out instead? It's quite sure that everyone in the whole Seireitei would get to know. They would call her: The perverted captain of squad two. Or-or, the hentai* that chases down girls! Or, the harmless girl hunter! She'd be called the spying catwoman! Or worse..

_ERO-NEKO*!_ Yoruichi panicked. She shook her head in hard denial. No way she could afford to be called like that. So maybe it was better if she wouldn't peak.. on Soi's marvellous, naked, creamy, body. Yoruichi drooled as a certain image entered her mind. The hot steam of the water all around Soi Fon, her hair wet and her body soft. The soap that would fall off on the wet floor and the water that would caress Soi's-

"Hey Cho, what are you doing?"

Yoruichi twitched. _Wha-What? _She felt she got lifted up from the floor.

"I'm done. Sorry to make you wait. Let's go to bed soon, I'm pretty tired."

Yoruichi blinked at Soi Fon with no expression. She.. just missed Soi Fon showering because she'd been musing too much of the fact whether to peek or not? "..." Crap. She cursed her conscience.

"... Something... wrong? Cho?" the girl asked with a puzzled expression on her face. Cho had never looked so flustered before, for as far as cats could look flustered in the first place. She took the cat on her shoulder. "Hey..." She whispered affectionately, sending a chill going through Yoruichi's spine as her warm breath tickled her fur. "Are you okay Cho?"

Immediately Yoruichi forgot about the peeking, this was incredible. She could feel the girl's breath on her fur and her soft hands stroking the animal's body. Yoruichi sighed and relaxed herself in Soi's hands. "Mew."

Yoruichi felt Soi Fon carrying her from the small hallway to the bedroom. As they entered the room Yoruichi looked up and found out the chamber still looked the same as last time she had been here. That was not that long ago actually, she chuckled. Was she beginning show signs of a stalker? Naah. It was just pure natural for a captain checked on her subordinates, right? Yoruichi this time managed to convince herself just before Soi dropped down on the bed with the cat in her hands, letting out a huge sigh as she did so.

"I'm tired." Soi yawned. She was already wearing her pyjama's which consisted from a silky shirt with matching pants. Soi Fon got under the blankets and Yoruichi curled up next to the girl.

"You know what Cho-chan." Soi yawned once again. She rubbed her eyes which were starting to feel heavy. "I'm actually quite scared of losing.." she mumbled.

The captain couldn't believe her ears. Was that girl still thinking about losing? She was Yoruichi's favourite for God's sake. She rolled her eyes. "You won't." She blurted out without thinking.

The girl immediately shot up and looked at Yoruichi with big eyes. "D-d-did you just say something Cho?" she stuttered?

Yoruichi mentally slapped her head, hard. _Oh god. _She thought.

"Mew?" She replied innocently.

"…" Soi Fon kept staring at her. Making Yoruichi to get nervous.

"Mew! Mew!" She continued, poorly trying to cover her mistake up.

Soi Fon kept staring.

"MEW MEW MEW MEW!" Yoruichi kept meowing, hoping Soi Fon would let the subject drop.

Soi Fon stared at her blankly but then got out of the bed and exited the room without saying a word, leaving an dumbfounded Yoruichi behind on her bed. _What in the world just happened?_

After a few minutes Soi Fon entered the room again, placing something on the ground in front of the bed that smelled very familiar to Yoruichi.

"If you wanted some, just say so.."

Yoruichi twitched. _Tuna..?_

She looked at Soi suspiciously. The girl nodded at the food as to say: Just eat it already. Yoruichi jumped off the bed and glanced over one more time at Soi, whom just shoved back under the blankets without responding. Then Yoruichi threw herself on the delicious food and started eating it passionately.

Soi Fon eyed the animal for a moment, rolled her eyes and laid down. After a couple of minutes Yoruichi jumped back on the bed and slightly touched Soi Fon's face with her nose as a thank you. Then the cat settled down again next to the girl and curled up like ball.

It went silent and Soi Fon started to drift off to sleep. Yoruichi eyed her subordinate which tossed and turned a bit more but settled too and started to breathe slow and steady. Then Yoruichi closed her eyes too and cancelled all thoughts from her mind, ready to drift in a sleep and go to dreamland.

"I'll do this for you taicho.." Soi Fon suddenly murmured after a couple of minutes.

Immediately Yoruichi opened her eyes. _What?_

"Just for you.."

Yoruichi felt her heart fill with a warm feeling as the girl spoke out these words for her. She started to be aware of a certain connection with Soi. Something deep in her heart. She thought about this for a moment and with a happy smile she closed her eyes and snuggled closer to the sweet girl. Then Soi Fon murmed another thing which Yoruichi first could not understand, but soon came clear to her.

"...Stinks like... tuna..."

_* Hentai = Pervert_

_** Ero-Neko = perverted cat_


	15. Electric Kiss

Hello dear readers,

I know it's been a while. A very, very long while actually and I am really sorry for that. I just hope you will forgive me, once again and will enjoy reading my new chapter. I promised myself I HAVE to finish this fanfiction, so I will. Piece by piece.

And to all my dear readers who have read this fiction from when I started, and who have read chapter one till fourteen. Thank you so much for your patience. I hope you will enjoy this part as much as you have enjoyed the other parts. I am really grateful you have read all of my work.

Please tell me what you think, I think I might have grown rusty.

Lots of love,  
Razias.

___Chapter 15  
__Electric Kiss._

The next morning Soi Fon woke up, just to notice Cho had once again disappeared, leaving an empty but still warm spot behind on her sheets. She smiled a sad smile, but cheered herself up with the thought Cho would certainly be back to visit her again another day. As soon as she realized a new day had begun and today would be the day of the final match, nerves started to crawl up her back, making her slightly nauseous. The morning had come too fast in her opinion. She stepped out of her warm, comfortable bed and went to the closet to grab her shinigami clothes to dress up. She still had a hour or two before the match would start so she was able to take her time to get ready and even to practise a few of her moves. She just had to win.

After she had eaten breakfast and practised her moves, it was time to go. She would be arriving early, but Soi Fon preferred being early over being too late. Stiff from the nerves Soi made her way to the training grounds. There she discovered she was the first one to arrive.

"Huh?" Soi Fon frowned. She looked around another time but found out she was truly the only one present on the field. Confused she stood still for a moment, but then remembered she had been early, and decided to wait for her fellow squad members musing about her strategy in the meantime.

Of course the first one to arrive after her had to be Yoruichi. At one moment Soi had been alone, lost in her own thoughts and the other moment the air had vibrated and Yoruichi had appeared in front of her, first blurry but getting visible a moment later.

At the sight of the raven-haired girl, Yoruichi smiled and greeted her subordinate happily. "Good morning Soi Fon!" she grinned, while she thought back at the previous evening they had spent together. It made her feel bubbly and happy inside, even though she didn't dare to fully show it on the outside, as she recalled what the small girl had said just before she had drifted off to sleep. _"I'll do this for you taicho..Just for you.." _Her heart leaped but her face maintained normal.

Soi Fon made a little jump as Yoruichi suddenly appeared in front of her and the presence of the captain immediately made her straighten up. "H-Hai Taicho!" Immediately she realized her odd answer and started to blush heavily. "Good morning to you too." She averted her eyes from the captain and pretended to be looking at the other side of the field, as if fellow squad members were about to pop up in a minute.

Yoruichi smiled at the flustered girl. Why did she always have to be so reserved around her? She should really learn to loosen up, especially if she was going to be around for a long time, which Yoruichi honestly expected her to be. "So how have you slept?" She tried, eager to keep a conversation with the girl going.

"Uhm.." Soi muttered, kind of confused by the question. "It was alright." She smiled at the memory of her and Cho. "It could have been a bit longer though.." She eventually admitted, smiling sheepishly while remembering the night, not fully aware of how she must have looked in the captain's eyes.

Yoruichi laughed and the sound make Soi stir and look up at the woman in front of her anxiously. But instead of a mocking laughter, her captain winked and smiled warmly at her, making something inside Soi glow. Quickly she suppressed the warm, tingling feeling, biting her lip to hide her uncomfort.

Yoruichi took in this sign of body language and attempted another time to keep the conversation going to ease the other girl up. She had to learn how to relax around her sometime if she was going to stick around.

"Are you very nervous?" She questioned, not knowing anything else to ask so quickly.

Soi Fon looked up and met Yoruichi's golden eyes. They stood very kind and certain warmth the girl could not describe, escaped from her eyes as she looked at her.

"A-a bit.." She admitted, stuttering and tumbling over her words. They all seemed wrong at this moment. "I mean.. it is the final after all.. I didn't think-"

"I knew you would make it." Yoruichi stated, grinning widely while interrupting the other girl's mess of words.

Soi Fon made a soundless little gasp, as she jerked her head up and locked her grey eyes with her captain's golden ones, which still stood as kind as before. A red shade appeared on her face and her cheeks started to burn helplessly. She noticed her hands were starting to tremble and she clenched them together to prevent Yoruichi from noticing.

_Damnit! Damnit! What is happening? Act normal Soi Fon! Get your act together!_

"A-arigatou Taicho!" She said humbly, while instantly bowing her head. "But you shouldn't be so kind to me! There was no guarantee I would make it to the final round."

"But still you did." Yoruichi stated simply. She really did want Soi Fon to ease up around her. Seeing the little girl, which she knew could be sweet and tender, like this around her true form, was even making Yoruichi feeling slightly uneasy. She just wanted Soi to trust her, like she seemed to trust Cho.

Soi smiled a little smile at her captain but quickly averted her gaze, her cheeks still red. It was just too disturbing to look the Goddess in front of her in the eyes. It made Soi feel woozy and she didn't know how to handle that feeling, she had never felt this way before around someone.

A noise behind the two girls made them stir up and turn around fast, interrupting the silence between the two females. A few squad members had just arrived and were talking and laughing loudly. A few of the members were playing a game, trying to hit the other's fist with their knuckles. If you were fast enough to retreat quickly, you were lucky. Otherwise the other person would hit your first with their knuckles and it would hurt tremendously.

Yoruichi cocked up an eyebrow at this sight of childish behaviour. "Well, well, well.." She began to speak. Immediately the squad members became silent and looked at Yoruichi with wide-opened eyes.

"Shihõin-Taicho!" They exclaimed as one.

Yoruichi smiled a devious grin and nodded towards the shinigami. Kuniko was also among them. "There you are Kuniko-san." She said. "Are you ready for the final match?"

"Hai! Taicho!" The blue haired girl replied eagerly as she stepped forward out of the crowd to meet her captain. She threw a big smile at Yoruichi. "I hope you will be fond of my skills."

The captain winked and smiled back warmly at Kuniko. "I'm sure I'll be Kuniko. You did a great job so far."

Soi Fon eyed her opponent suspiciously. Why was she talking to Shihõin-Taicho like that? It's not like Yoruichi had ever spent some time with the girl one on one, like she had with Soi Fon. And why was Yoruichi responding this way? Soi Fon didn't like it at all. Her mood went down and she pressed her lips together. A hollow feeling slightly started to unfold in her stomach, making her feel sick and dizzy as she watched her opponent make her way to the training ground where they would be holding the match.

Yoruichi noticed Soi Fon's mood had suddenly changed. She carefully glanced to her right, only to see Soi stand up firm, her lips forming a straight line on her pale face. Carefully she put her hand on the smaller girl's shoulder and gave Soi a sweet smile as the smaller girl turned her head to look at the captain.

"Don't worry, Soi Fon. I'm sure you will do great as well. Don't forget what I said to you." Yoruichi whispered.

Soi Fon looked up at Yoruichi as she felt the touch of the woman's hand on her shoulder. There was something about the look in Yoruichi's eyes which made the hollow feeling in Soi's stomach grow bigger. If only she weren't so scared to let her captain down. If only she were strong enough to win this and stand at her captain's side.

Soi wished the match was over already. That she didn't have to do it. That she wouldn't fail. Oh God, what would become of her if she would fail? She wouldn't be able to bear that upon her fragile shoulders. She would be humiliated. She wouldn't be able to ever look Yoruichi in her beautiful golden eyes. It would be too painful. She couldn't let this woman, who seemed to have so much faith in her, down. Now Soi Fon understood the emotion in Yoruichi's eyes, which were still cast upon hers. It was faith. Yoruichi was truly convinced that she would make it. That she would win this final round.

It made Soi Fon want to throw up. She wanted to scream and run away. Run away from everything. Flee to her home and hide under the warm dark blankets of her bed where nothing could touch her. She wouldn't be able to do it. She wouldn't be able to win against Kuniko, who had been one of the best fighters in the squad since their old captain had left. Soi had trained a lot the last weeks, but would it be enough to win? She doubted it. It was just impossible. How had she ever thought she would be able to win? She even told Cho she thought she might have a chance to win the duel last night. How in the world was she going to do this?

As Yoruichi looked Soi Fon in the eye, she could see the girl wasn't really looking back at her. Her cloud grey orbs reflected a whirlwind of emotions which were going through the smaller girl's mind. Yoruichi bit her lip. What was going on all of a sudden?

"Soi?" she said softly as she gently shook the smaller girl's shoulder.

The girl didn't respond. She still seemed to be lost in thoughts, pondering over who knew what.

"Soi Fon." Yoruichi repeated. A bit louder this time.

Still the girl didn't respond.

"Soooi!"

Still no reaction as Yoruichi started to shake her shoulders a bit harder.

"God damnit." The captain finally exclaimed as she furrowed her eyebrows. Without further thinking she reached forward and planted her lips firmly on the ones of the smaller girl in front of her for a short moment. This immediately caused an electric spark to shoot through her spine as their lips touched. Quickly she retreated, dumbfounded by what had just occurred.

Soi Fon snapped out of her trance as she felt the woman's soft tender lips collide with hers, and retreat quickly after a spark had been caused by the touch. This electric pulse went straight through her spine, made her heart skip a beat, and continued its way down until it finally exploded into a sparkly feeling inside her stomach.

"Hu-huh?" The petite girl stuttered.

Yoruichi pretended as if nothing had happened and averted her gaze awkwardly, as she tried to hide the feelings that were twirling inside her. "Well hello." She stated as she folded her arms together, not looking at Soi Fon for a single moment. "Welcome back to earth."

Soi Fon's eyes widened as she looked at her captain and tried to comprehend what had just happened. "Did you just-"

"No!"

"..."

"Did I just what..?" Yoruichi asked hesitantly, trying at all cost to hide the feelings that were raging through her body because of what she had just done. Thought she wasn't able to suppress an upcoming blush from appearing on her cheeks.

"..." A blush also started to crawl its way up Soi Fon's cheeks, making them burn heavily.

".. Hm? Did I just what?" Yoruichi asked again, firmer this time. Blushing heavily by now, which, luckily for her, wasn't very visible on her cacao-coloured skin.

"..Nothing.." Soi eventually said after a short silence and averted her gaze from Yoruichi to the ground. She let her bangs cover her burning red face as she stared down at the rocks at her feet.

Another silence followed.

_Quick Yoruichi! Think of something to say!_

"So what were you thinking about?" She hastily began to speak. "You were miles away."

"Ehh.. N-Nothing.. T-Taicho." Soi Fon mumbled, not daring to look up.

Silence.

"TAICHO!" A scream came from afar. "When are we starting? I think we're complete!"

Yoruichi turned around to the voice which seemed to come from the training grounds and had saved her from another awkward silence. She lifted her hand and gave the shinigami who had called for her a sign that she would be there in a minute. Then she looked back at Soi. Who seemed to be lost in thoughts again.

Yoruichi sighed. "Soi Fon?" She started, getting an immediate reaction from the other girl this time at the sound of her name. "I think it's time we went to the training grounds.."

Soi Fon nodded. "H-hai.. Taicho."


	16. Victory, but whose?

_____Chapter 16  
__Vicotry, but whose?_

Slowly Soi Fon followed Yoruichi to the training grounds where the last match would be held. She looked up and saw the back of her goddess in front of her, walking in a steady pace towards where the other shinigami were. Instantly a shiver went through the smaller girl's body as she thought back of her captain's lips locking with hers and the tingles it had given her. Hesitantly she brushed the spot with her finger. "Yoruichi-sama.." she breathed soundless.

At an instant Yoruichi turned around and cocked an eyebrow. "Yes?" She eyed Soi Fon curiously.

"H-hai?" Soi Fon hadn't seen that one coming and bumped into Yoruichi's chest. Quickly she paced back a few steps and looked at the ground with a flustered face._ How could she have heard that?_ The girl's thoughts were racing through her mind, causing her to feel slightly dizzy at the speed they were doing so. Her breath had merely been a whisper.

Even Yoruichi seemed to feel slightly uncomfortable, as she shifted from one foot to another. "Eh.. I thought I heard you say my name." She said, looking away from Soi at last. "But never mind it; I guess it was just the wind."

The captain turned back and continued her way towards the group. _Crap. I wasn't supposed to hear that of course._ A weird feeling made her stomach contract. Her heart was beating furiously, as if it wanted to get out and was carving its way out through her chest. _I should have just ignored that. I shouldn't have turned around. _Yoruichi mused. _I can only imagine how she feels right now._

The raven haired girl was walking behind Yoruichi in complete silence, her face still towards the rocks underneath her feet. It still felt warm from the sudden colliding with Yoruichi's chest and the older woman's golden orbs staring into hers so unexpectedly. Carefully she lifted her head to look at Yoruichi again. The wind was causing her purple hair to dance in a graceful manner. It swung from one side to another as she paced forward and they got closer and closer to the group. Right at the moment Soi Fon was about to look away, Yoruichi turned her head to look back over her shoulder. Their eyes met and Yoruichi smiled uncertainly at her subordinate. The smaller girl immediately averted her gaze as she could feel the blush crawling up her face even more.

Yoruichi sighed inwardly and turned her head back forwards. They had arrived.

"Taicho!" The group immediately straightened up as their noble captain came nearer.

Soi Fon parted from Yoruichi and merged herself within the group of other shinigami. She needed to get away from Yoruichi, who was making her feel so incredibly strange. It was a feeling she was unfamiliar with and it scared her. She chose a place in the back and turned to hear what her captain was about to announce.

"Hey all, welcome to the last match to decide who will be my fuko-taicho. We have two candidates left, one of them, Yamahiro Kuniko, the other one, Soi Fon." Yoruichi paused as she pondered on how to continue. She had lost sight of Soi Fon as soon as they had arrived. Thought she could still feel her reiatsu nearby. This meant she was still here and Yoruichi felt relieved. "I hope you both have prepared well, so this will be a splendid match." She continued. "Please prepare yourselves and take your places when you think you're ready. The rest of the squad, please come with me."

As Yoruichi walked away, Kuniko turned around to Soi Fon and smirked at her with a villainous grin. "Hey Fon." She said presumptuous. "Let me win, kai? That will save you the trouble of getting hurt."

Soi eyed her opponent angrily. Something about the way Kuniko had said that made the raven haired girl furious. "Forget it." She venomously sneered. "You will have to earn your victory. But don't bother; I will take you down.." She finished her sentence with a cold glare towards her opponent. Her mouth one straight line as she pressed her lips together.

Kuniko's grin only widened at the sight of Soi Fon getting so worked up. "There's no way you will beat me Soi Fon." She spoke in a calm tone, which only seemed to make the other girl angrier. "I have what it takes to win. And you.. Well.. Let's face it.. You just don't." She simply stated as she shrugged her shoulders and smiled slyly. Then she walked away to Yoruichi and the others, leaving a dumbfounded Soi Fon behind.

"Yoruichi-sama!" Kuniko shouted from far, getting closer to her captain. "Don't worry! I will definitely make this victory mine!" She smirked and looked over her shoulder one more time to give Soi Fon a wink to startle the girl to the utmost.

Yoruichi saw Kuniko coming closer and smiling in a rather odd way. "Yoruichi-sama!" she shouted from a distance. "Don't worry! I will definitely make this victory mine!" Yoruichi raised an eyebrow at this weird statement, but forced herself to smile back encouraging. "Hai! Try your best Kuniko!" She yelled back.

As soon as she had done so, she let her eyes wander around to find Soi Fon. She could see the girl standing just a couple of meters behind of where Kuniko was walking. Something was off. Soi Fon's shoulders seemed tense and hard, and her head was bending down low. Her arms formed a straight line and her fists were clenched together as if all her tension was locked up in them. She could feel her subordinate's reiatsu tremble with anger. What had just happened there the moment she and the other members had left? What had Kuniko done to her? Yoruichi shifted her eyes back to the redhead, who was close now and still grinning oddly.

"Kuniko." She started. The redhead turned to Yoruichi and widened her toothy smile.

"Hai! Taicho?" she exclaimed.

"Did something happen…?" Yoruichi managed to ask as she nodded her head in the direction of Soi.

"What? Oh.. no! Nothing happened taicho!" Kuniko answered as she smiled sweetly at her captain. "I just seem to have angered her a little when I said she should be careful and to not go all out against me. To avoid getting hurt you know."

"Mm.. Alright." Yoruichi said as she turned around to face Kuniko and the group. "I guess it can't be helped then. We will have to wait for her to get ready. Until then, you can spend the little time we have left with your friends." Worried, she glanced back over her shoulder to look at Soi, who seemed to be making her way towards the group also. _Soi Fon.. _Yoruichi mused.

"Ready? Steady? Go!" Yoruichi's voice echoed. She had taken place in her usual chair and was shoving around uncomfortably as she eyed Kuniko and Soi Fon whom were standing in front of her in combat poses. She could see Soi Fon was still tense. There was a certain hard look in her eyes which made Yoruichi shiver. It seemed so cold and determined and above all, incredibly pissed off. Kuniko instead was smiling widely, as she had been for the last twenty minutes. Her teeth were visible and her eyes seemed to be laughing. _She sure is confident.. _Yoruichi stated annoyed, she turned her glance upon her favourite fighter again. _Come on Soi Fon, I know you can do it! ... I wish I just knew what's bothering you.. _

"AAAH!" Kuniko screamed. The sound of wood clashing upon wood sounded all over the training grounds. Kuniko had just delivered the first strike. Soi Fon, who had seen this coming, blocked it with ease. This made Kuniko raise her eyebrow. "Ah, I see you have improved at least a bit." She said in a low voice, as she pressed her weapon down on Soi's with more force.

"If you only knew." Soi Fon replied. She quickly put a step to the side and made a strike at Kuniko. Kuniko dodged and lifted her arm to deliver a strike back at instance. Soi Fon dodged the attack this time by bending over and when she got up straight she raised her stick to block another attempt. _CLASH!_ The sound of wood on wood. _CLASH!_ Kuniko had attacked again. _CLASH!_ Soi Fon who had let her stick hit Kuniko's. A battle of strength was taking place as they pressed the sticks against each other. The two girls angrily eyed each other from behind their weapons.

"You're going down, Fon." Kuniko fumed. Soi Fon just remained silent and pressed her lips together to a straight line.

Yoruichi eyed the fighters from the sideline. She could see Soi Fon was having a tough time. But she was also being reckless. She was angry and this made her less concentrated. Kuniko though, was also out of balance. Both girls were eying each other furiously and everyone could feel the tension which surrounded them. The squad members at the side lines were watching in silence. This battle had more to it than what met the eye.

Suddenly Soi Fon broke away from the strength battle. She paced to the side and suddenly re-appeared on Kuniko's left. This came unexpected for the other girl.

Yoruichi moved to the tip of her chair as she saw Soi Fon make a pretty good move.

The girl lifted her arm and let the stick rush down shortly after that. Yoruichi gasped.

But Kuniko had somehow blocked the strike and pushed herself away from Soi Fon. She was just out of reach of Soi's stick now. Luckily this meant Soi Fon was also out of reach of hers.

Yoruichi sank back down in her chair, the feeling of disappointment washed over her. She had hoped Soi Fon would have delivered Kuniko the final blow. Unfortunately Kuniko had blocked it perfectly. Yoruichi lifted her head to watch the match continue. Both girls were standing rather far away from Yoruichi and the other squad members.

"GAH!" Suddenly Yoruichi could hear a scream escaping from Soi Fon. The girl then sunk on the ground as she dropped her stick, her head bend down in defeat. Kuniko's stick was rested against her neck.

"Soi Fon!" Yoruichi's eyes widened in shock, she couldn't believe it. How could this have happened? A mutter among the other shinigami rose.

Kuniko grinned as she pressed the wooden stick against Soi Fon's throat. "Didn't I tell you, you wouldn't make a chance against me?" she hissed malevolently.


End file.
